Princess of Egypt
by Valkyrie Elysia
Summary: A twist of fate has Kisara adopted by the pharaoh and is made both princess and sister to the Prince Atem. But what happens as she comes across the boy who saved her life years ago, when she's the untouchable and he is a high priest?
1. To Save a Pharaoh

**V.E.: Well here's my second piece of blueshipping/mizushipping out the door. This is also the first time I'm doing a proper story about Kisara and Priest Seto. How I came up with this idea, I can't necessarily remember. I remember I wasn't fond of my Thief in the Night idea, it sounded too generic and typical for stories on this sight. I think it was when I was reading the manga Red River, about a girl from Tokyo ended up in Mesopotamia, and Ouke no Monshou, about an American ending up in Egypt though not nearly as good as the former.**

**I thought about maybe doing a modern thing like that, but I kind of scrapped that at the moment. So I think those mangas led me to think about Kisara being revered as a goddess with her unusual looks. Granted that caused a lot resentment in the memory world. So how would Kisara have been seen as divine? If she had a connection to the Egyptian royal family.**

**Anyway, you can hardly say this is unoriginal compared to the stories you've seen before.**

**Of course, this first chapter isn't about that. It's about her arriving in the capital city. I don't see a reason to write about the night she escaped from her captors since we already know about it.**

**If you want my version, read my oneshot The White Dragon's Past.**

**Alright, here's to the hopes that this is liked!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue. Well I will own an OC that will come up eventually, but that's beside the point. I might change the rating, depending how this story goes.**

* * *

"So this is the capital city."

Kisara shifted on her horse as the brown steed trotted into the city limits carefully, the first lights of dawn just beginning to show.

Her blue eyes darted around, taking in everything she was seeing. It certainly was different from the other settlements of people she had seen. Never had she seen something so big! Most of it what she saw was the houses on the outskirts of town, but she could see more impressive building towards the center in the distance. One in particular, was really grand looking. Luckily, there didn't seem to be many people out at the moment. After traveling two whole days through the desert, she had finally come to the place that boy had spoken of.

_Seto. _

She couldn't help, but feel some guilt associated with the name. If he hadn't saved her, his village would still be standing. She knew about it through the connection she had to the beast inside her.

Still he had helped her, allowing her to escape in order to go back to her country.

At that thought, she felt herself sigh as she got off her horse. The problem with that was that she didn't know the way home. She was well aware she was far south of where she originally had come from, but beside that knew nothing.

Her eyes widened as she caught sight of the small well nearby. She led her horse by the reins to it. Next to it, was a small pot of sorts. She picked it up, reaching down fully to get the water.

After drawing it up, she held it out to her horse who drank eagerly. Despite being thirsty herself, she knew the horse should have some first. She repeated that process with the well until her furry companion was satisfied.

Then she took one of her hands through the pottery, scooping water with her hand to her mouth. She sipped the water carefully, going against her instincts to just dump it over her head. Even though it was early in the day, she knew it was going to be a hot one. It was a habit she picked up being this country for so long, though she was still not used to the heat.

Though despite the temperature, she was surprised on how her skin stayed as white as the day she was captured. Most slaves often tanned as they were hauled from place to place in the blistering sun.

After she felt the cool liquid slide down her throat, she put the jug back where she had found it. Now that one need was taken care of, she needed to figure out a solution to a problem. Traveling for months had made her aware of how much she stood out in appearances.

Her slavers had bought her because of her unusual looks, hoping they could get a good price for her. She heard enough of the stories to know she would have ended up some rich man's play thing.

So how was she going to keep herself from being spotted? Someone was bound to notice her.

Her eyes searched around, just to make sure that no one saw her right now when her eyes became focused on a bundle of rags down one of the allies.

Then she got an idea.

* * *

The seller's grin was broad as he led away the brown horse to the back.

"Thank you for your business!"

Kisara only nodded in response, keeping the dark rags covering most of her skin as possible. She was vaguely aware of the bag of coins in her hand.

After disguising herself in the dark clothes, Kisara waited for a short while for people to emerge from their homes. She stopped one to ask where she could sell the horse she had and they had pointed her out to the place she currently stood.

She dislike the idea of selling the horse, but she knew very well she couldn't have kept him. She could barely take care of herself at the moment, let alone a horse.

_I'm sorry my friend. I would have liked to have returned you to your master, but I'm not entirely certain whether I will ever see him again. You'll be happier where you are._

Plus, now at least she could buy something to eat if she wanted to. At the same time, she knew by the weight of the bag that she probably wasn't paid enough money a she ought to have been. But it was a rather hurried sale and she didn't want the seller to pay a lot of attention to her.

Finally, she willed her legs to move through the bustling crowds of the city. Even as people brushed beside her, she tried to make herself as small as possible. Trying to keep herself hidden was something she needed to do if she was walking in daylight.

She was right about her earlier feelings of the day, it was a scorcher. The bright sun beamed down and she was certainly feeling it because her rags were seemed to drawing the attention of the heat.

However, the brown clothes were giving her the anonymity she desired. No one seemed to bother her a second glance so long as they were unaware of what she truly looked like.

There were so many people here, all hurrying to get to their own destination. No one had time to bother with a raggedy cloaked girl.

The aromas of the cooking food wafted through the air, she stopped to smell them. Her stomach let out a treacherous growl. Her head tilted to glare down.

_Not now, I'll get something later._

She looked back up to take in more of the strange market place around her. There was everything here: pottery, jewelry, and once more she was drawn to the many stalls of food.

She felt her face grimace. Maybe she should reconsider her previous thought.

Then her eyes widened as she saw people hauled through the market place with chains. She felt herself grow cold, despite the heat, as she knew exactly where they were going. The slave market.

She hurriedly turned herself away, darting through the crowd as skillfully as she could, keeping a tighter grip on the thing that covered her.

But she was stopped as she found people had stopped down a street. The sandy pathway was parted for someone to come through. The question being, who?

She slowly turned to a spectator next to her.

"Excuse me, but what is going on?"

The older woman being asked looked at her in disbelief.

"You must be a foreigner girl, the Pharaoh's procession is about to pass by this way."

Kisara's eyes lit up in understanding. Ah yes, she had heard that the Pharaoh was the title for the ruler of this country. She had heard enough about politics of this country through her unwilling travels.

She went further down the line as her eyes caught sight of the king approaching.

He was a man in his mid-years by Kisara' estimation. Tall, stern, and proud even though she could barely see his face. He was born up on a litter with several servants. His robe was the deepest purple Kisara had ever seen, stitched most elaborately. She could also see the unusual crown in which he donned himself, white with the head of a snake watching him.

Kisara looked at him and knew this was not the god that she had heard about it. This was a man, a mortal man that ate, breathed, and could die just as any person. Where had the people who had kept her got the notion he was a god?

The people around her, on the other hand, seemed to miss what she saw. They were whipped into a frenzy on seeing their king.

"PHARAOH! PHARAOH!"

The pharaoh took all this in with a stride, waving to his subjects. This seemed to make them more excited as the cheering was growing louder.

It struck Kisara as the perfect chance to slip away undetected. No one was watching her and even someone did catch a glimpse of her skin, they would dismiss it and turn their attention back to the pharaoh.

But as she began to move her legs, they weren't moving in the direction towards the allies. Instead, she seemed like she was being carried in the direction of the procession.

For a moment, she was marveling at what she was doing. She tried to tell her feet to go elsewhere, but then she felt a nudge in her mind.

Her Amma had spoken of just knowing things. This was one of the closest times Kisara could say she knew what she meant. There was just this…_feeling_. Not so much for the pharaoh, but of anticipation of something.

And for some reason, Kisara got the feeling it was a bad something.

So she let her own body react without her mind as she felt herself continue the trek with the procession. Just as she thought, many people in the crowd were caught up in their king.

Eventually, after some time in walking, the procession came upon the grand building she had seen earlier in the day. It seemed to gleam in gold with obelisks towering and the grand gates.

She felt herself in awe of the spectacle.

_So this is the palace!_

She darted her eyes to find that the procession had stopped and would go no further towards the palace. That made sense as commoners would not be welcome in the house of the one they would deem to be their god.

The litter was moving closer to the gates, but Kisara could not help but feel the sense of unease grow stronger. Her eyes darted around, finally stopping at the top of the gates.

Then they widened as she realized. Someone was up there, where there were no guards. There were some to make sure the people didn't get too close to the pharaoh on the ground, but there didn't seem to be any up there.

Her eyes narrowed in the direction of the figure, curious as to what was going on.

Then she saw it. Movement as the figure drew out a bow, steadying it. As if getting ready to shoot.

She saw the figure draw an arrow, concentrating hard upon something.

Her eyes went cold as she realized the intended target.

The grip was ready to fly.

Her voice cried out before she could help it.

"LOOK OUT!"

That got the pharaoh's attention who seemed to heard her despite the cheers of the crowd. In that moment, the two's eyes met; amethyst purple against lapis lazuli blue.

Then he followed as her eyes changed direction towards the tower.

He just managed to avoid the arrow as he got out of his seat and to the side.

This turn of events prompted panic in the crowd. Most were scrambling to get away, in awe and fear that someone would dare to try and assassinate the pharaoh.

The dark figure hurried away, trying so badly not to get caught. Only to be found by the guards down the stairs who responded to the cries outside.

Unlike the rest of the people who were going crazy, Kisara was frozen still for some odd moments. She could only watch the pharaoh surrounded by his guards and what seemed to be a couple of people in his personal inner court. In particular, an old man with grey hair peeping out his purple covering and a man in a white hood.

Finally, she snapped out of her mood and turned to get away.

_Well, so much for conspicuous. _

She tried to hurry away, but then she felt her hand grabbed. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't break free.

She turned around to find that it was a palace guard with several of his colleagues there. And they were all giving her a rather skeptical look.

"And where do you think you're going, girl?"

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**V.E.: For an introduction chapter, this is pretty short. I promise you the next one will be longer.**

**Please check out my poll.**

**Also, Review!**


	2. A Life Forever Changed

**V.E.: Oh boy, I couldn't sleep at all really. You see, I had this project due on Friday and I know I did pretty badly so I've been worrying about it. Oh please Lord, do not let my quarter grade fall below a C!**

**Sorry, personal drama. Then again, if not here where am I going to complain about it? I don't think my parents are going to be particularly sympathetic. It's the end of senior year and I was ready to leave up, now I'm scared about moving on.**

**I'm pretty sure that's normal behavior for a senior though. **

**Well, we should probably get back to the story though.**

* * *

The expression of "To escape slavers to be caught by the pharaoh's guard"(which would later morph into the more famous "Out of the frying pan into the fire") was certainly an apt and summarizing way to describe Kisara's position at the moment.

After being caught by the guards and dragged to an underground holding cell, she was pacing in her cell having nothing else to do aside from think. Luckily, they had not removed her rags and she closely still kept herself covered.

Kisara sighed.

_If this is how they treat the person who saved their king's life, I'd hate to see the way they treat their enemies. Like that assassin. Then again, they might think I was part of the assassination attempt. Or maybe I'm just some unfortunate bystander that got mixed up in all the chaos and I'll be let out later._

Kisara felt herself grunt. She was pretty it was not the last one.

She felt the prison guards watch her closely at a distance, they seemed to be in a very intense game involving coins and a cup. One of them called to her a mocking fashion.

"Hey girl! Aren't those rags making you hot? You won't get by pacing!"

She didn't pay any attention. The guard just scoffed and turned to his game.

Kisara was struck by the sudden feeling of déjà vu between her past and present situations. Her captors thought she was just some girl whose only good feature was her stunning and unusual looks. They didn't realize that she listened to everything, often absorbing certain information. Who would be sold next, what direction they were heading, what was going on in Egypt politically(mostly she heard about this in complaints).

Although most slaves needed awhile to pick up unfamiliar tongues, Kisara had understood any language she had come across in her travels. She just pretended to be mute and understanding most of the time. It was something she had picked up from an older slave woman she met shortly after being sold the first time.

"**Don't every let on you know what they are talking about, you'd be surprised how much these people drop their guard when they think someone can't understand them. You need to listen the way a cat listen, paying attention to everything and revealing nothing."**

It was good advice and it had served Kisara well enough, but when she was often thinking to herself, she'd wonder how she was able to understand everything. She had no education aside from herbs and that was strictly to the plants of her home.

Kisara shook these thoughts out of her head, none of this was helping her get out of this cell.

She wandered what was going to happen next. Was she going to rot here for gods' knows how long? Sent back to the slave system? That would have been back in the situation she previously escaped from.

But before she could ponder on these thoughts any more, she heard a noise that seemed to be a person shrieking.

"YOU USELESS, STUPID…."

Kisara cringed along with the guards in the distance, pitying the poor unfortunate fool that wrath was unleashed on. Unfortunately, the volume was rising as it seemed that the person that belonged to that voice was getting closer.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF SUCH INCOMPETENCE! THE PHARAOH WILL HEAR OF THIS!"

The door to the dungeon was banged open and Kisara felt herself crane her head to get a better look.

It was woman that seemed be in her middle years, dressed in a white robe and gold. She also had a headdress crowned with gold that hid almost all of her graying hair. Her features were rather stern, her air of command gave Kisara the impression that this was someone of great importance in this palace.

But what really drew Kisara's blue eyes was the necklace around her slightly tanned neck. It seemed to be a golden eye, shining even in the shadows of this dungeon. And for some reason, Kisara felt a shiver go down her back. It felt like the thing was watching her.

Unaware of the impression she was having on the young girl as she was attended by the head prison guard who was currently bowing his head in fear.

"Lady Nephthys, what a great pleasure that your beauty has graced our…"

Those dark eyes narrowed more as she spoke.

"Do not give me any of that Warden. You and your guards have allowed that assassin to commit suicide! Now we have no clue to who was behind the assassination attempt."

The guard aptly gulped and bowed harder. He looked at the eye necklace only briefly.

"My greatest apologies, my Lady. We tried very hard to capture him alive. However, could you not use the Millennium Necklace to…"

That was obviously a taboo topic as Nephthys' features sharpened even more, reminding Kisara of a hawk.

"One should not presume to question the workings of the Millennium Items and their bearers."

This got the warden to cringe, bowing even lower, almost falling to the ground.

"No disrespect my Lady, to you or the Pharaoh!"

Nephthys side, her features softening. Her worry line seemed to retract as the complete anger irritation was fading.

"I'll let Rashidi deal with you, he's the one in charge of palace security. Any way, it is not for the assassin I came."

Her darker eyes went past the warden, finally meeting Kisara's beautiful blue ones for the first time.

"Is this the girl?"

The warden seemed to gain some of his normal composure back as he answered.

"Yes my Lady."

"Release her."

"What?! But my Lady.."

A glare from the older woman silenced the protests on his lips.

"You heard me, Pharaoh wishes it."

Those were the magic words as the warden hastily unlocked the cell lock, the bars swinging way for Kisara to make her way through. Hesitatingly, Kisara began to step out of the cell, still making sure she was covered. She made her way over to the Egyptian woman and stopped.

The woman glanced her up and down, which only made Kisara more self-conscious. Finally, the woman spoke.

"Follow me Girl."

Kisara merely nodded as she did as the woman asked, following her out of the dark dungeon and into sunlight.

The palace really was enormous, a fact Kisara found to be true as she followed Lady Nephthys through it. It all seemed like a complicated maze to her. But this maze had beautiful pictures of what looked like gods and goddesses on its walls, green gardens throughout it. She had never seen anything so grand in her life! She wished she had three more pairs of eyes to see everything.

As the two females passed by other people, be it gossiping servants or guards or other people Kisara didn't know what they did, they would immediately stop their chatting and bow while parting the way, some saying "Lady Nephthys". Kisara stole another glance at the woman she was with, her first impression must be correct that she was someone of importance here.

Finally, Kisara almost ran into Nephthys as the woman stopped before two gigantic doors. This caused the Priestess to glance back at her at the moment charge with an annoyed expression.

Kisara immediately felt like shrinking if she could.

"I'm sorry."

This didn't change the Egyptian's expression as she looked over the girl once more before speaking.

"You will do as I say. Understood?"

Kisara nodded. Nephthys relaxed(as much as she could really, Kisara was starting to think this woman was constantly serious.). She opened the golden door, to a sight that caused Kisara's jaw to drop in wonder. It was the most beautiful room she had ever seen. So big and vast with the high ceilings and many pillars, even a upper balcony. Up ahead, to the sides were painted two eyes as to give the impression of constantly being watched.

They were parted for a throne, which Kisara could tell even at a distance was occupied. Also close to the throne, was a gaggle of people clothed similar to how Nephthys was, though she couldn't get all the details at a distance.

Kisara wanted to look around a bit more, but Nephthys had started moving toward the direction of the throne and Kisara hastily tried to follow her. For once, she wished she could take off these rags.

Nephthys came closer and stopped in front of the throne. She looked at Kisara and gestured to the man on the golden seat.

"Bow to the Pharaoh, Foreign Girl."

The pronunciation she was a foreigner somewhat relaxed the tension a little. Slowly, Kisara lowered her leg to do so before being stopped by Nephthys' sharp gaze. Her reply was quieter than the first.

"No Girl! With your left leg!"

Kisara corrected herself and faced her head firmly to the ground.

A calm reassuring voice spoke after some moments.

"Yes, this is the one from the crowd. Where was she being kept?"

Nephthys' voice answered.

"In the dungeons apparently. Also, our assassin decided to take his own life rather than our judgment."

Another voice answered this time, authoritative and scornful.

"Figures."

"Now Khalid, it's just as well. Let him take his chances with the gods in the afterlife, his heart will outweigh the feather."

The first voice grunted to the voice who had joined in the conversation.

"I would have preferred that we sent that criminal to the gods personally. And now, we have no idea who was responsible for the attempt."

Another voice joined the conversation, his was smooth and deep.

"Could the man have acted on his own?"

"Possibly. I suppose we may never know."

This time an older voice joined in the discussion bringing them back to the present.

"The Pharaoh has already stated the subject is to rest for now. We can discuss this later."

If Kisara could have seen it, a nod was given to the older man and the older voice resumed after the discussion was concluded.

"Thank you, Shimon. Raise your head, Young One."

Kisara slowly lifted head, her neck creeping up, giving her a better view of who she was dealing with.

She had seen the pharaoh at a distance, but that was just a pale sketch at what she was seeing. His face was as stern as Nephthys, but his seemed slightly kinder and gave off an air of more power. His purple eyes were looking at her searchingly. And hanging down his neck was a golden upside down pyramid, with the same eye symbol.

It seemed as all the members of this court possessed an Item with that symbol as Kisara got a better look at them.

An older man who was at the left of the pharaoh was dressed in stunning white robes and dark cloak. He also had a purple headdress with a golden cobra symbol on it. He had a silver gray beard and mustache with purple eyes(was that eye color common in this country?). From his neck hung a golden ankh with a groove to the side.

The rest of the group was lined up on the other side of the pharaoh. The farthest from the god king was a man with black hair, green eyes, and lots of muscle who carried a golden set of scales. The one next to him was a tan man with black facial hair and a headdress who carried a rod or scepter. The next was man covered by a hood with not as much tan, a mustache, and possessed some unusual Ring of sorts.

The last was the closest to the Pharaoh, also covered by a hood. His beard was pure white and Kisara felt her eyes' widened at the other part of his face. His right eye was fine, but his left was replaced by a golden eye. For some reason, she was getting a strange feeling about this man. Something familiar.

Kisara snapped herself back to the moment as she looked back at the ground before looking up again a few moments later.

The Pharaoh seemed to notice her nervousness as he gave a small chuckle.

"It's all right Young One. You're not trouble."

The man with the golden eye stepped forward slightly.

"That has yet to be determined your Majesty."

"Aknadin…."

"With all due respect, you were nearly killed this afternoon. This girl may be a an accomplice."

The one with the Rod glanced at Kisara before turning back to the one with the Eye.

"Aknadin, I may not necessarily be the most merciful of the Sacred Guardians, but do you really believe a small girl is guilty of treason?"

Aknadin was not deterred.

"She is a foreigner, why would one be in Egypt at the place of an assassination attempt? At the very least, let her be tested."

The pharaoh thought for a moment before sighing. After this, he caught Kisara's eyes.

"I don't like this, but he carries a point. She'll be tested. Child, remove your rags."

Kisara's hand clenched as she let out a gasp. She started to back slowly up to be stopped by Nephthys who nodded at her to do so.

Aknamkamon looked resolutely at her.

"Please. You won't be harmed for showing your face."

Kisara gulped as she slowly removed her clothes. She went for the ones around her arms first, then shrugged the ones that covered her own dress. Finally, she slowly unwrapped the headdress rag, allowing her hair to go loose.

Her appearance was there for all to see and it caused quite the reaction. The Guardians all gasped in shock, the Pharaoh got off his throne. Never before had they seen someone with such looks. They were no strangers in dealing with foreigners, but none that had Kisara's appearance. Silver white hair, pale almost translucent skin, and deep lapis lazuli blue eyes. Even though she was a child, this girl's looks were a rare beauty.

They would have continued staring at her probably had Shimon not broken the moment.

"What is this?!"

This caused all the Millennium Item wielders to turn to their senior, to be surprised once more. In Shimon's hands, the Millennium Key was reacting violently, glowing brighter than they had ever seen before.

Shimon's eyes flashed as the Key revealed to him what was causing the reaction. From the girl, came a white light in the form of a great beast. Such power Shimon had never felt before as he seemed like he was having a panic attack as the dragon's roar echoed in his ears.

He almost collapsed as he leaned over and the Key drop to the floor with a clang. The Pharaoh and Aknadin rushed to the trusted adviser's side. The king's voice carried great worry.

"Shimon, are you alright?!"

The old man tried to catch his breath as he answered.

"I have never felt….such a powerful Ka….in all my time in possessing the Millennium Key. Even some of the oldest Kas we have in the shrines pale in comparison. If I may say so Pharaoh, it might….even rival the Egyptian Gods."

This caused all of them to look at her, degrees of some shock and interest evident in all their eyes. Kisara suddenly felt like backing up again.

The one with the Rod came forward before turning back to the pharaoh.

"In that case, should I preform the sealing ceremony right now?"

The hooded man with the Ring stepped forward, putting an arm in front of the man to stop him.

"Just a moment, Khalid. Allow me to check something."

He raised the Ring toward Kisara's direction. The Ring lit up, the instruments to the side clinking wildly before pointing directly at the pale girl, who was uncertain of what exactly was going on.

After a few moments. The Ring was lowered back to his chest as the man sighed.

"Just as I thought."

Khalid looked at his fellow priest questioningly.

"What is it Rashidi?"

Rashidi gestured to Kisara.

"This girl's Ba is tied to her Ka. If you attempted to separate the Shadow Creature she possesses, it would kill her. And powerful Ka or not, that's hardly the way to repay the girl who saved our pharaoh by killing her."

Kisara gulped at the words, somehow putting some things together.

_They don't mean…the beast I summoned, do they?_

Aknadin questioned Rashidi.

"How do you know this?"

"Other than the Pharaoh's words, I sensed through the Ring that girl's ba. It was powerful and purer than anything I'd ever felt."

He looked at the man carrying the golden Scales.

"Thabit, weigh her heart. If evil outweighs it, then I am not fit to be a priest."

Thabit nodded as he held up the Scales. It fluctuated as it moved by itself for several moments, its owner's eyes closed in concentration. Finally, the scales stopped in an uneven position and the eyes opened in amazement.

"Incredible…"

Rashidi looked at his friend in expectation.

"Well?"

Thabit's head was shaking slightly as he spoke, looking in awe at Kisara.

"This girl's heart is spotless and pure, devoid of malice and darkness. There is no evil in this girl's heart. Never have I weighed such a purer heart."

Rashidi turned to Aknadin, Aknamkamon, and Shimon(who had regained his footing).

"I think it's safe to say the girl is innocent."

Though Kisara was told otherwise, she felt her voice break through.

"Umm, excuse me…"

This caused the entire group to look at her, never before had a prisoner interrupted the pharaoh so unsure of themselves.

"Do you mean…by Ka…you're talking about…the monster inside me?"

The room was deathly silent as the Inner Court stared at the young girl with incredulous expressions on their faces. Kisara felt another urge for the ground to swallow her up.

Eventually, the pharaoh's voice spoke up softly.

"Yes. You know about your Ka?"

Kisara twiddled her fingers with nervousness.

"Amma said I had special...power."

"Amma?"

"The old woman who take care of me, my grandma you would say."

Aknamkamon looked at this strange girl questioningly.

"What happened to her? And your parents?"

Kisara shook her head before she answered.

"My Amma died on the day I was taken from my home. I never had parents."

Aknamkamon took this all with a thoughtful expression.

Nephthys stepped forward and addressed Kisara. Her voice was somewhat different from before.

"_How far north are you from?"_

Kisara answered without realizing her voice had changed as well.

"_I only knew where I was to a distance. I only know that this is far south from where I lived."_

The men's eyes were widening in surprise, but Kisara couldn't understand why they were doing so.

Nephthys responded again, the voice taking on another tone.

"**How long have you been traveling?"**

Kisara felt her voice take on the same tone as the priestess'.

"**At least a year, I think. I haven't really kept track of dates. The last time that time meant something to me was when there was a festival going on in a city of boats. I think it was a festival to some patron god or goddess."**

Once more the stern yet softening voice of Nephthys came out again.

"_**You are a slave, yes? How did you learn to speak Egyptian and the other languages?"**_

Kisara felt herself incredibly confused, before realizing what was different about Nephthys's voice, she had been talking in different languages. And she had answered them exactly like a native would have. She seemed to will her voice back to Egyptian.

"I don't know, I never found a language while traveling that I couldn't understand. I can't quite explain it."

Aknadin cleared his throat, regaining the composure that his other male Guardians had yet to find. He returned his attention to the Pharaoh.

"Pharaoh, your decision? There must be something done about this girl."

Aknamkamon's expression deepened more until finally he raised his head and resolutely mad eye contact with the young girl.

"What is your name?"

Kisara felt herself slightly more sure of herself as she replied in her soft voice.

"Kisara."

This prompted another bout of thinking, all the guardians looking at the Pharaoh trying to guage what he was thinking.

Finally, he looked up and directed his attention to the guard near the throne.

"Bring my son here."

The guard seemed surprised at being addressed by his king, he was incredibly nervous and stuttering, and the request.

"The..the…Crow..n..Pri…Pri..nce?"

Aknamkamon was direct as he nodded.

"Yes, go get him. NOW."

The solider immediately bowed and rushed out of the room, a wind carried behind him.

The room was silent as they were looking at their king questioningly. Even Kisara was confused, why did he summon his son here?

Aknadin looked at his king for a moment before his face changed, obviously guessing what was behind the intentions.

"Pharaoh…."

He was silenced from a look by Aknamkamon, but his normal eye seemed to say plainly to him 'This is going to go badly.'

The doors were thrown open quickly as blur of speed ran through the Audience Hall and glomped the king as he stood up to greet him.

"FATHER!"

Aknamkamon let out a small smile as he stroked the young prince's back as he let the boy empty out his thoughts.

"They said you had been…that you were almost killed!"

Father responded to his son in a gentle tone.

"I'm sorry my son, I should have come to you earlier."

The worried tone turned petulant as the eyes narrowed at his father.

"Why didn't you?"

Aknamkamon gestured to Kisara nearby.

"I've been dealing with some….business."

With that said, the young prince turned around and allowed Kisara to get a first good look at him.

Kisara had thought she would never meet someone stranger looking than her. This prince was like no one she had even thought possible. It wasn't the tan skin, or regal clothes, or the golden crown which was not the only gold jewelry he wore. It was the hair; it was tricolored. Black hair, tipped red, and blonde bangs; three of which were styled in a spiky way that gave the impression of a second crown.

It seemed that the prince was observing her just as much interest though he clung to his father to reassure himself. He was uncertain of her, wary of her.

Aknamkamon gestured To the young boy.

"This is my son, the Crown Prince Atem."

Kisara nodded to him to which Atem spoke unsure.

"Hello…who are you?"

Aknamkamon answered before Kisara could.

"This is Kisara. She is to be your sister."

Silence reigned in the room for several seconds, as if time itself was unsure of what the pharaoh had even said. Akandin was the only Guardian not frozen, he looked like he was ready to smack himself.

This silence was broken by the two soon-to-be siblings' shared reaction.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

**V.E.: Okay…forget about the longest chapter in this story so far, this has got to be one of the longest things I've written PERIOD. Glad I was able to make the deadline for this, my self-imposed deadline.**

**As a result, I expect some feedback. Reviews are love! Even criticism I take gratefully. Flames will be disposed of.**

**To those just joining us, there is a poll on my page. It will close right before I update my Mummy Reborn where I will announce the results.**

**Over 4000 words? Wow….**

**Review**

**Puzzle: Pharaoh Aknamkamon, Father to Crown Prince Atem**

**Ring: Rashidi, Master to Mahad**

**Eye: Aknadin, Brother to Aknamkamon, Uncle to Prince Atem (Father To Seto, but this is a secret)**

**Rod: Khalid, Seto's Predecessor and Master  
**

**Necklace: Nephthys, Isis' Aunt and Master **

**Key: Vizier Shimon, Shada's Master**

**Scales: Thabit, Karim's Father and Master**

**I will get more into their background later, I can't wait to mess with them. Since I know so little about the previous Guardians, I can totally let my imagination run wild.**

**Until next time peoples!**


	3. Expectations for a Princess

**V.E.: Oh writing on a computer to a story that I love and other people reciprocate...how I have missed doing this more during the school year! As my last summer before college, I hope to update my stories a lot this summer.**

**Now I know I left you hanging last chapter. Some of you were wondering about Kisara's age. Well, I'm putting her about the same age as Seto was so she's about two years older than Atem. I'm thinking these events would take place when she was either nine or ten maybe. Therefore, Atem is around seven or eight. It's so tricky in anime to guess a person's age though it is remarked that Priest Seto was orphaned at an early age.**

**Any other questions, ask in reviews or PM me please.**

**Disclaimer: For formality's sake, please just go to the next line.**

* * *

It was the second time that Kisara had spirited away by the guards, but this time she was rather grateful to be given some space to take the new information in.

The room she was in was certainly more grand than the dark cell she had been in previous, though less grand than the audience room. It seemed like a bedroom of sorts. She sat on a polished golden chair as she took in the room around her. The walls were painted with the customary gods and goddesses she had already seen throughout the palace though she did not know their names. The bed had white sheets and had a rather unusual headrest where a person would lay their head. There was another door aside from the one that lead out into the hallway, but Kisara had no idea what that was for. Not to mention there was a balcony that overlooked the whole city.

But all this grandness couldn't distract her from what had just transpired what must have been a couple of hours ago.

"_This is Kisara. She is to be your sister."_

Even now, it sounded unreal. She couldn't honestly believe what the pharaoh had said.

Her, a princess, a Sister to the Crown Prince and Daughter to the Pharaoh?! How could that be possible?! Going back to the slave system had been more real of an idea. She was wondering whether or not the god king had gone temporarily insane.

She was certain she was not the only one who was thinking so, considering the reaction of the Sacred Guardians. Let alone her soon to be brother. His facial expression and outburst mirrored hers, though they shared no similar characteristic.

She couldn't believe it, wouldn't believe it. Any minute now someone was going to take her to the slave market, telling her that it was an absolute mistake…..

And the door did open suddenly at those thoughts. Kisara jumped up straight in her chair, but it wasn't a guard.

Lady Nephthys came into the room with the same brevity she had when she came to pick Kisara up from the jail. Her hawk like serious expression seemed tired as she sighed, her eyes closed for a moment before opening and directing her attention to Kisara.

Once more, Kisara felt completely scrutinized. Unlike the time at the jail though, this felt like a more in depth observation. That feeling didn't disappear as Nephthys came closer to her until she was standing right in front of her.

Nephthys' finger pointed to her and moved up.

"Stand up."

Kisara hurriedly got to her feet.

"Yes ma'am."

Nephthys guided her away from the chair to the middle of the room. Once she had done so, the high priestess circled the pale haired girl, taking in every detail of her truly this time. Every now and then, she would stop as if to focus on something before continuing her circle.

None of this put Kisara at ease as she squirmed under the priestess' gaze, but that was quickly picked up.

"Don't squirm girl! Stand up with your head held high!"

Kisara was startled by the direct tone, but she did as the woman asked.

Now Nephthys moved closer to her and while Kisara was uncomfortable with it, but she didn't show it. Taking Kisara's wrist in her hand, she lifted her arm and observed it. She released it to have fall back to the pale haired girl's side to do the same to her other arm. After that examination was finished, the tan fingers ran their way through the moonlight white hair. Finally, she lifted up Kisara's chin and turned her face from side to side a few times, her face unreadable.

She released her and stepped back, breaking the uneasy silence.

"I know you can talk, but can you read anything?"

Kisara's fingers twisted slightly as she answered.

"Not really."

This didn't change Nephthys' expression as she went on.

"And what do you know of our gods?"

"Kisara forced her fingers to stop playing as she answered.

"Umm...that Ra is the sun. And Anubis is involved with the dead."

Nephthys' question was direct as always.

"That's it?"

Kisara nodded.

"That's it."

The Egyptian woman sighed.

"Well, it seems like I've got my work cut out for me."

Kisara's face changed from unsure to puzzled which Nephthys saw.

"You don't understand what's going on, do you?"

Kisara shook her head.

"No."

Nephthys' features relaxed slightly as she responded.

"I've been assigned to be your tutor."

"Tutor for what?"

Nephthys' gained some amusement.

"To be a princess. Were you not paying attention earlier?"

Kisara's eyes widened in disbelief before she caught herself.

"Of course I was, I just thought…"

Nephthys seemed pleased by her answer.

"That the Pharaoh was not serious? Oh no my dear, one thing you'll learn about Pharaoh Aknamkamon is that he always means what he says. Although, it's good to know you have some sense about this. As of now, most people in court are marveling at his great generosity or temporary insanity. Whichever that turns out to be, depends on you."

Kisara thought of something and questioned her about it.

"But wait, if you become my tutor, won't that detract from whatever your work is?"

This gained the first smile from Nephthys she had ever seen, but as quickly as it came was as it was gone.

"It is nice you show concern, but it is not necessary. My duties are not as pressing as the other Royal Guardians. I only need report to court if a vision of the future I have will impact Egypt, so I can concentrate most of my time on tutoring you."

Kisara's eyes widened as she connected some things.

"A vision of the future. Then are you a seer of sorts?"

Nephthys nodded before her hand went to the golden eye necklace.

"Yes, my power comes through the Millennium Necklace. It is not as precise as the other Items though, visions do not come constantly and the future is subject to change."

Kisara wanted to ask more about the Millennium Necklace and the other Items, but she got the impression now wasn't the right time so she kept silent.

Nephthys paused before she went on

"I was not originally part of the Royal Guardians, before it was only five men that watched over the pharaoh. It was the Millennium Items that changed all that. At the time, I was simply a small priestess when the Necklace chose me to wield it. Since then, I have done my duties faithfully, enduring the stares of many because of my position and because I am a woman."

Nephthys focused on Kisara after she said this.

"This is the world that I am preparing you to enter. If you were to enter court right now, it would be like tossing you directly into a nest of scorpions, because that is just what the Royal Court is. Every noble, every general, every priest, will have their own motives and will do anything to achieve their desires. Not everyone is living selflessly for the pharaoh and their country.

"As princess, their eyes will constantly be on you. They will see you as a pawn they can use perhaps, to curry favor with the Pharaoh. Or they can see you as a nuisance and take steps to have you eliminated. This is a delicate and dangerous game, but one I will teach you to play. You will master the rules of the game until you can play it better than they can."

Nephthys paused before she posed a question.

"But before I go on, I must ask something. What is it you want?"

Kisara was unsure what the priestess was asking of her.

"What do you mean?"

"Surely you also have a desire of sorts. If the Pharaoh had offered you anything you wanted for your assistance, was this what you would have wished? Is there something else that you could have been offered? To return to your homeland, perhaps?"

Kisara's mind flashed to Seto for a moment, but she immediately resolved herself to the answer. She was going to be truthful however.

"My lady, I was an outcast in my homeland. The one person who cared for me and made it home no longer lives. There is one thing I desire, but that is not a wish your king can grant for me nor do I ever expect it to ever come true so I see no reason to speak of it. I saved your pharaoh for the same reason I would have saved anyone. I would not stand silent if it were in my power to save someone. I did not expect _this _or anything else."

Nephthys took in her answer for a few silent moments before her lips widened into a real smile.

"Thabit did not exaggerate, I see. And there's some eloquence with that self-less heart. Very well, you will become my student. Every morning, you will rise and be escorted by one of the servants to take lessons with me. Considering where you are at the moment, reading and writing should be the first thing on our minds. When you have gotten the basics of that, I will see you get the chronicles of the kings to study along with our gods.

"At meal times, I will dine with you and instruct you how to eat properly. I will also quiz you on what you have learned that day. In the afternoons, you may return to your room, but do not wander the palace. It is crucial that no one see you in this time.

"Also, don't expect to see the pharaoh, but don't take this personally. His own son sees him very little, he is always busy with business these days. Expect the same of Prince Atem, I get the feeling he will not approach you until he is more sure of you. Don't take this personally either, he's quite wary of strangers."

Kisara shook her head.

"After all that's gone on, I would have been surprised if he didn't react that way. I certainly would have done the same in his place."

Nephthys nodded pleased.

"Good, that frame of mind will serve you well. At the moment, you will focus on your studies. I have sixth months to teach you before I present you to the court and they decide whether it was worth it. Six months to turn a foreign girl into an Egyptian princess."

Kisara couldn't help, but feeling awe by the woman's tone. It was confidant, almost looking forward to the challenge despite the problems. There was something about it that made Kisara want to do it, to rise up and meet the first expectations set for her.

"Where do we start?"

Nephthys looked at Kisara up and down, slightly focusing on her clothes.

"Well first, we should get you out of that sack and into a through bath. Then we'll see about getting you some decent clothes."

She clapped her hands twice before calling out.

"Dendera! Akila! Femi!"

From the door where Nephthys had entered, came three woman that were dressed as servants. The first two seemed to be about the same size, their hair covered. The tan skin, the facial features; they looked like sisters. The only visible difference between the two was that the first woman had light brown eyes while the other had darker pupils. The third was completely different, having slightly darker skin and a squarer face.

All three of them tried to maintain professionalism, but were they definitely taken back by Kisara's appearance. Finally, the first managed to reclaim her voice.

"What is it you desire Lady Nephthys?"

"Escort us to the baths, will you?"

The first nodded, catching the two other's attention and getting them to nod.

"As you wish my lady."

Nephthys held out her hand.

"Come along, Little One."

Kisara shyly took her hand and allowed herself to be guided by the priestess. The two were followed through the puzzle like wall of the palace by the three maid servants. She asked no questions, trusting Nephthys to lead her through this unfamiliar surroundings.

Finally, after what seemed like almost an hour, they finally entered though a doorway that housed a rather beautiful baths. The water sparkled beautifully, there were steps to lead her to the small pool. Of course, there were also decorated pillars of the gods and other pictures.

Nephthys took in her expression with some amusement.

"If you think this is impressive, you should see the official royal baths. This is just for the regulars of court. The servants have their own baths."

One of the woman went to get some ointments and other things to wash the body and hair. The darker skinned woman simply stood there. The one with lighter eyes was left behind as she stood before the pale girl.

"Your clothes, my lady."

Taken aback by the title, Kisara did as she asked as she let her dress drop to the floor. The servant held out her hand then.

"This way."

Kisara felt herself guided into the water, before being let go as the servant went back. She wasn't taken aback by the water, it was pleasantly warm and she huddled into the pleasure.

The two women that seemed like sisters, came to her with a brush and some jar of something. But before they did, the one with darker eyes stretched out her hand.

"Oh."

Kisara felt it touch her white hair.

"So soft."

The other one also touched Kisara's shoulder.

"Such nice skin, I don't see a single mole."

Nephthys spoke up, her stern tone back to normal.

"Well, what are you waiting for, you fools? She's not something to gawk at like a two headed snake. Get to it!"

The two were brought to attention as they nodded to the priestess and turned back to Kisara.

"Yes Lady Nephthys."

With that, they began to pour the liquid contents on Kisara's hair and begin to rub it through her hair. Kisara marveled in the small bliss that came with someone doing this for her. This felt nice, surprisingly she felt like she could get used to this.

Off to the side, the darker skinned servant girl held the dress and addressed Nephthys.

"What should I do with this?"

"Toss it or burn it, I never want to see it again. Before that, figure out the size and find a suitable replacement for her."

The nod was given in reply before leaving.

"As you wish."

Kisara didn't even really connect that the last thing that was hers was being taken away. At the moment, she was just aware of the small attention lavished on her and the sweet smells of what was being applied to her.

_I wonder what else it is that I'm getting into?_

* * *

**V.E.: It's shorter than the last chapter, but I hope it will be appreciated.**

**This bit about Nephthys' past I'm somewhat guessing on. I didn't see her in anime until the Millennium Items were properly used. Still out of all the Guardians, I thought she would be the best teacher for Kisara.**

**Next is when we get to Kisara's lessons. This will be what Kisara will be focusing on for now, we won't meet the others for a while. And to answer someone's question, yes Mana will be here along with Mahad and Isis. But that will come later.**

**Seto won't come in for a while, at least some time after she is properly royalty.**

**Check out my poll on my profile.**

**Review! **


	4. Pictures are Words

**V.E.: Yes, I know, I am a horrible procrastinator and hypocrite(the last part may confuse you, but I'll keep that meaning to myself). I said I would have updated last weekend, but I didn't. To be honest I'm feeling pretty lazy, but I really need to keep writing. Otherwise, I will go through another period in which I don't write anything, and everyone knows how that goes.**

**I'm also going through watching children's movies while I write these chapters. Perhaps an attempt to recapture my fading childhood? I don't know. Maybe it's because I just read a biography on Walt Disney(RIP Great man). In some ways, I could relate to the guy(I understand what it means to be possessed and focused on one thing and intense boredom once I've felt I've finished with it). At other times, I was in awe and disgust of his self-absorbedness, for lack of a better word.**

**I guess the reason I'm thinking about Disney is because I can partially see Kisara in some of the Disney Princesses, since I'm kind of figuring out what she'll be like as a princess.**

**Wait a minute, this isn't about Disney or how I feel about his company's movies, this is about Kisara! And I'm pretty certain this will be a rather shorter chapter. Hey, I go with what I write. **

**Disclaimer: Please go to the following line after the page break.**

* * *

Kisara cautiously opened her eyes to the dark of the early morning. She blinked the blue orbs a few times before sitting up in her bed and looked over her room.

It was still taking some getting used to, having a room of her own. Every time she had woken up so far, she had been partially convinced that the events that had befallen her were nothing more than a dream and she would soon wake back up in the cage her owners had placed her.

But a moment later she would realize it was real as she observed her room for what must have been the hundredth time. It was similar to the room Lady Nephthys had, though much smaller. She still marveled at the people like drawings on the walls and the small pictures beside them that Kisara had recently come to understand served as words. There was a small desk and chair on the other side of the room, the only thing aside from those things was the window next to the bed and the door, which behind it was where Kisara kept her clothes.

She stretched slightly as she got out of her bed making sure to step around the headrest she had put on the floor. Neck rest or not, the thing was uncomfortable and Kisara wasn't sleeping with it.

After that was made sure, Kisara strode over to the small door and opened it, revealing a modest selection of clean white dresses. Nephthys had said it was a poor selection and choice for a princess, but it would have to do since Kisara technically wasn't a princess. Rather, she was a princess in training. Apparently, it was a discussion that had come up in the Royal Court once it was certain that Kisara was staying. When she was officially a princess, she would be moved to an even larger room with more appropriate dresses.

She really didn't mind since she was currently in awe for the first time in her life, she had more than one thing to wear.

She selected the dress on the most right and slipped off the coarser dress she had used as a nightgown to the floor. With that, she slipped on the light white linen over her head and glanced down at it.

It was really plain, the white dress covering her neck and going slightly past her knees, but still she liked it very much. She went down to the bottom of the small closet to fetch a small golden neck collar and the golden belt. Fastening them on, she looked at least above a servant in the palace. Though her eyes' had been more drawn to the silver that Nephthys had arranged when these had been selected, the jewelry had fit together. They were simple, with no jewels or engravings on them.

She twirled slightly, marveling in it for her moment, before going to the door that led to the hall, surprising the darker maid Femi who had just been about to knock.

She quickly regained her composure and bowed her head to Kisara.

"It is time for your lessons with Lady Nephthys, my lady."

Kisara nodded.

"Of course."

Following Femi, Kisara made her way through the labyrinth of hallways in the palace, finally coming back to Nephthys' door. Femi opened the door and motioned to go in. Kisara smiled as she strode into the room which she had become familiar with.

Nephthys stood by the desk, but catching Kisara's appearance smiled her small smile and walked over to her.

"Good morning Kisara. I take it, you surprised Femi again?"

Kisara slightly chuckled as Femi gave an incredulous eye roll, like she had never served someone who had gotten up before the servant had woken them up(as a matter of fact this was true, not even Lady Nephthys got up on her own on a regular basis).

Nephthys shook these concerns aside as she guided Kisara back to the desk, full of papyrus scrolls and small tablets.

"But never mind that. Let's get onto today's lessons."

Kisara took the seat right in front of the desk while another chair had been brought right beside her for Lady Nephthys. The older woman unrolled one of the many scrolls and pointed to a beginning set of small images.

"Now let's go through a little bit of what we learned yesterday."

For the past week or so, these little picture like things had been Kisara's immediate tasks. Nephthys would scratch out a picture and sound it out, having Kisara repeat it several times before she attempted to write it herself. It was a slow, tedious process, small letters eventually evolving into small words that Kisara was beginning to slightly understand. Even after the day's lessons were done, Kisara used the papyrus on her desk to practice these little scribbles.

Still, even though Kisara knew she was nowhere near knowing everything, she had found the lessons interesting and she had taken to learning the drawings that seemed like little scenes on their own. With so little else to do, she was progressing quite rapidly.

Still, the lessons were painstakingly long and tedious. Nephthys would correct her sternly, though not unkindly because she did make mistakes and if they were wrong she often had to start the whole thing all over again. Her main duty was copying what she was reading.

The things being told on the scrolls were actually the interesting part. As Nephthys had stated, she would be learning all about the past pharaohs and the Egyptian gods, and that was part of the stuff Kisara had been reading about. First it had merely been their names, now she was learning a little more about what those names meant.

So she scrunched her eyes and focused on the exact place where Nephthys was pointing and began reciting allowed.

"The…..great….god…..Ra...rises with…..the morning…."

Kisara looked up to which Nephthys nodded.

"Go on."

"…..in his boat…..tri…..tri…"

Nephthys spoke in a firm tone.

"Triumphant, dear."

"Triumphant….from his battle…..with…the demons….So it….is…every…..morning…and for….all eternity."

Nehpthys nodded.

"Good, though you could have less pauses between the words. Though for hieratic, you're doing quite well. Maybe we'll have time to move onto cuneiform before these six months are up. Now let's move on to this next one…."

* * *

"So how were things yesterday at court?"

Nephthys gave out a small sigh as she was seated very lady like in her seat.

"Rather tedious according to Rashidi. There was Lord Khepri of Lower Egypt asking for more land, the Pharaoh postponed his request. Also, the High Priest of Amun went over the details of an upcoming festival in another city."

Kisara just nodded along with the conversation as she was seated.

"Anything going on outside of Egypt?"

Nephthys shook her head.

"Aside from the regular bandits, there doesn't seem to be any problems politically. The note the current of ruler of Hatti sent was pretty typical, starts his letters with flattery and ends with a threat. But that is pretty normal for him."

Kisara smiled as she broke the tone the two had been speaking.

"So how'd I do today?"

Nephthys sat back, shaking her head in disbelief.

"It's official, I can teach you nothing in the spoken word."

Kisara just gave an uneasy smile as she chuckled. Every day for their afternoon meal, Nephthys didn't just discuss their previous lessons or what was going on in the royal court, she would test Kisara's language limits. Apparently, it seemed there weren't any as Kisara had been able to respond to every language the priestess had thrown at her.

To this Nephthys was still shaking her head as she spoke once more.

"How do you do that?"

Kisara just shrugged, she could no more explain it than Nephthys could. She just knew languages the same way she knew that she could summon her dragon if she wished.

Nephthys sighed as Femi and the sisters Akila and Dendera arrived with the plates of food.

"I suppose that is a mystery that will have to wait for another day. Time for lunch."

The plates were set on the table, appetizing to behold but Kisara didn't make any movement. Nephthys was back to regular composure as she spoke.

"How does a Hatti warrior shown he has demonstrated his first kill?"

"He shaves his facial hair."

Nephthys nodded, posing another question.

"And what sort of things is Egypt known for trade wise? Also what would we receive from some of our best allies?"

Kisara took a breath before she answered.

"Egypt is known for its gold, linen, papyrus, and grain. Sometimes there will be stolen treasures from a pharaoh's tomb. From our best allies, we expect copper and iron."

Nephthys nodded.

"Good, now we may eat."

Kisara breathed a mental sigh of relief. Throughout these meal times, Nephthys would often lecture on other matters regarding Egypt. She also expected the young girl to remember what she said, even if it had been a few days ago.

She knew that Nephthys was a good teacher, though she was pretty certain Nephthys could be a little bit more patient. Everything about the woman was direct, demanding, and to the point. Still, Kisara enjoyed her company immensely, partially because Nephthys was one of the only people she had been able to see and talk to since entering the palace.

It had been about a week, but Kisara was starting to get lonely. She did exactly as Nephthys requested and stayed in her room, trusting that the priestess knew what she was doing. At first, it was relief not to deal with people's stares, but now it was just sad.

One of the reasons she was enjoying their meals together.

Kisara restrained her immediate instinct to dig right into the food. She carefully used her right hand to get the bread form one plate, bringing it to her own. Next she used her other hand to get some of the duck meat.

Once she was done selecting her current food, she sat up straighter as she took small, deliberate bites. After one portion was finished, she would use the extra sheath to wipe her mouth before she went onto the next portion.

As she went through the motions of dining, she couldn't help but feel her mind wander. All before this, Kisara had never been expected to do much except look pretty and be sold to some brothel or high class noble.

Now she was expected to know everything she had been learning about from the hieratic writing(Nephthys said hieroglyphs were used more for tombs and a bit harder to learn with the hieratic easier to write and learn), dinning manners, and rather random bits of information said in passing but not really explained.

And this was just one week! What else was she expected to learn over these next couple months?!

Nephthys had looked up then from her own plate and saw Kisara lost in thought.

"You're troubled."

Kisara looked up in surprise and didn't know what to say. How could she broach this subject with her teacher and not make it sound insulting?

But she didn't have to as Nephthys surmised what was on her mind.

"You think this stuff is too much, is that correct?"

Kisara was only moderately surprised that Nephthys had guessed the truth. She had learned that the older woman was very good at gauging a person's thoughts.

She spoke then with an unsure voice.

"It's just…well…nothing against you my lady…"

Nephthys sighed.

"Kisara, I don't mind the 'my lady,' but I would prefer you put my name somewhere in your sentences."

Kisara flinched slighty.

"Yes, Lady Nephthys."

Lady Nephthys sighed once more as she got Kisara's gaze back on her.

"Kisara, I know this seems all a bit confusing and some of this stuff may look inconsequential, but these things are important."

Kisara still wondered and voiced it.

"Are you sure I have to know all of this?"

Nephthys seemed to gather her thoughts before she spoke.

"Truthfully, some of this stuff you may never need to know, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't bother to learn it. Kisara, I know this seems so sudden and too much at once, but understand this. I am trying to teach you what most Egyptian princesses spent years learning in six months."

Kisara looked intrigued by this.

"So Egyptian princesses are expected to know a lot? I thought princesses were expected to just look pretty so to attract good offers of marriage. At least, that's what a lot of village chiefs' daughters near my homeland were mostly concerned with since they didn't really have to do any work."

Nephthys shook her head as she went onto explain.

"No, though that is probably how many people would think of it. An Egypt princess is more than just marriage and bearing children, many of them were actively part of court intrigues while some left that to the men. But I get the feeling you will not be able to turn a blind eye to what our court is."

Kisara scrunched her nose slightly as she remembered the words Nephthys had used the first day they met.

"A nest of scorpions?"

Nephthys nodded with a small satisfied smile.

"Exactly. But we needn't go into the details of that right now. Right now, just focus on what I'm teaching you. Focus on the maneuvering the court once you've gotten a better understanding Egypt."

Kisara looked interested in the change of conversation.

"What's next after writing?"

Nephthys went on.

"Well, we've been going into it a little with our lessons, but the next thing you have to learn is of the previous pharaohs and our gods. In other words, history. I'll have to ask Aknadin to send more scrolls from our supply. After that we'll see whether you can measure up in courtly conduct. I said we might have time to learn some cuneiform, but before that we'll need to focus on the structure of Egypt and how this game of court works. You'll know who's in power, who's not, and some that might be useful."

Nephthys broke off then with a contemplative gaze.

Kisara was surprised by this, she expected more.

"Is there something else?"

Nephthys looked startled before she shook her head.

"No, that's all for now at least. I might tell you this next bit later when I figure it out what it is exactly. Not even I know everything that comes in the future, despite what many might think. Now then, I think it's time for us to move onto dessert."

* * *

**V.E.: Okay this is slightly longer than I expected it to be. Well, that's all good. It'll be a little while before I update Fate or Something Like It. To those who think this chapter is boring, sorry but I want to show Kisara's transition somewhat gradually.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Ps. Poll on page**


	5. Of Gods and Men

**V.E.: I don't know why, but this is a rather difficult chapter to put down. Part of the reason being laziness, but I guess it might be for the fact that for the next couple of chapters Kisara really doesn't do anything aside from her studies. I mean, in my mind it makes sense that she be devoted to them, but I'm also wanting to introduce her to the other characters. Introductions in this story, however, are going to be tricky in this story.**

**Alright, you might want to know that I'm going to be talking about the Egyptian pharaohs a little this chapter so I might want to give you a time period when this is. Judging by the real timeline(AKA 3000 years ago, AKA not the English Dub) I place Aknamkamon and Atem's reign around the Intermediate period, between the New Kingdom and the Late Period. So a long time before Cleopatra, who in fact was Greek not Egyptian.**

**Alright, I suppose I better get this show in the road! Oh wait, don't think about roads. Long story I don't want to explain. Roll chapter!**

* * *

Kisara groaned as she felt like banging her head against the desk, scrolls unfolded and scattered all about.

_This is hopeless._

Nonetheless, she slowly picked her head up and tried to put her focus back onto the scrolls. However, it didn't change that it was all a jumbled up mess to her.

Reading it wasn't the problem. After several weeks on the writing program, Kisara had managed to learn the basic letters quite quickly. Probably because she had very little else to do, she often practiced in her room in the evenings. So the words were actually quite clear to her.

No, the problem was the information she was reading.

"Problem?"

Kisara was startled before she calmed down as she realized who the voice belonged to. She turned to find Nephthys observing her.

Kisara shook her swiftly and gave her a smile. She had learned in her period of being tutored, there was to be no complaining. She had to obey Nephthys without question; no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Plus, she didn't want to worry her.

"Nothing, it's fine."

Nephthys, however, didn't seem to be buying that as she crossed her arms and gave Kisara a very searching look.

"Really?"

Kisara tried to hold up her smile, but she couldn't as her pretenses dissolved into a sigh.

"Okay, I don't get this."

Nephthys sat down next to her on the chair nearby.

"Alright, what don't you get?"

Kisara sighed as she held up the scroll she was currently reading, depicting Anubis weighing the heart(which looking to the pictures, was definitely outweighing the feather and was going to be devoured by Ammit).

Nephthys got the idea quick enough.

"Oh, I see."

Kisara shook her head.

"I just…don't really understand your gods."

Nephthys looked interested by her statement, her legs crossing.

"In what way?"

Kisara seemed a little uneasy as she began, but as the conversation went on, she seemed to be warming up to the topic.

"Well, it seems like there are a lot of contradictions about them. Like with Horus, one scroll says that he is Osiris and Isis' brother, another said that he was their son. Then there's Hathor, the cow goddess, which I found that some call her Ra's mother and others Ra's daughter. Also, with Anubis, most scrolls I've found says that his mother is Nephthys…"

At that, the priestess gave a small smile.

"Yes, I'm well acquainted with that story."

"But there seems to be some debate going on whether Osiris or Set fathered him. Also, how can a pharaoh be a living god? This all just seems….so…..so….."

Nephthys managed to pick up her train of thought.

"Confusing?"

Kisara sighed as she found her head back on the desk again.

"Yes."

Nephthys thought for a moment before she spoke again.

"This is all very different compared to what you believed in your homeland, isn't it?"

Kisara brought her head up again with that.

"Yeah. Amma didn't really believe in the gods specifically, but there were a lot of superstitions in my village like crossing a field on a full moon or failing to offer up a portion of the crop to our ancestors gone by. I remember the stories of men wandering into the forest because of beautiful women and never returning."

Kisara stiffened as she remembered something.

"Ummm…."

Nephthys picked up the change in moods quickly.

"What is it?"

Kisara played with her hands as she went on.

"Well…..back then I got angry one time and I think one of the village boys saw the monster inside me…"

That got Nephthys' attention, her eyebrows went up at an alarming rate.

"Your ka?"

Kisara shrugged.

"That's what you people call it. Anyway, after the villagers basically thought it was going to eat them unless a sacrifice was provided and they left out a sheep tied to a tree."

"What happened to the sheep?"

"Nothing actually, it went on for about three months. When they saw the sheep weren't being taken and that my dragon hadn't reappeared, they thought Jorg was lying. He was a big liar, the irony was that it got out because he was telling the truth."

Nephthys nodded before she spoke again.

"I see your point, but my dear don't your homeland's believes have contradictions as well?"

Kisara thought for a moment as she realized that there was a point.

"Well aside from the incident with my dragon, some said that trickster sprits stole precious items while others said it was our ancestors because we forgot their offering. Another story I heard when I was a kid was about a hero who became a god, but another storyteller said he died a gruesome death."

Nephthys smiled at that.

"There. Do you see something in common?"

"You mean aside from the fact that both Egyptians and my people honored the dead?"

Nephthys nodded.

"Yes, at least they got something right, but that's not the point. With every set of gods, there tends to be some level of contradiction. The majority do tend to be somewhat alike though."

Kisara seemed unsure of what she said next.

"Well, there just….seems to be a lot more of what I have to know. Do I really have to believe in all this stuff?"

Nephthy's answer was straightforward.

"I don't expect you to believe in anything."

Kisara was taken back while Nephthys went on.

"Kisara, no one can tell you what to believe, that's something you decide for yourself. I certainly don't expect you to believe in gods that you've just begun learning about. But as a princess of Egypt, you'll be expected to know them."

Nephthys thought for a moment before going on.

"There are actually too many gods for any one person to learn about, along with the gods of other countries we do commerce and war with at times. You'll be expected in the future to worship in the temples and participate in the festivals. As a princess, you'll have everyone's eyes on you."

Kisara sighed.

"You said that before. So what am I supposed to do?"

"Exactly what I just said. Worship the gods in public, but in private your thoughts are your own."

Kisara look confused at that as Nephthys sighed and went on.

"Do you remember yesterday, when we went through the scrolls, we came across on Ramses the II?"

Kisara still looked confused, but answered.

"Also known as Ramses the Great?"

Nephthys smiled at that.

"Right. He was perhaps the greatest pharaoh Egypt has ever known. He was known to be the quite the warrior, though not perhaps very good at judging people. Before his battle at Kadesh, he was deceived by two spies of the Hittites and divided up his army. By the time he realized the truth, it was too late. His heroic actions saved his life, but he lost a third of his army and Kadesh. And do you know what happened when Egypt heard of all this?"

Kisara honestly didn't know it, but she took a stab at it.

"Umm, the people were mad?"

"Not at all. In fact, there was a lot of celebrating."

Kisara's eyes widened in disbelief.

"But he lost!"

Nephthys smiled as if Kisara had grasped something very particular.

"Exactly! But along with being a great general, Ramses was also a master of public relations. He would paint walls announcing his great deeds, regardless of whether it was a victory or a defeat. He got the whole battle to sound like a victory in that the Hittites would now take Egypt seriously and would not taste war with her any time soon then."

Kisara looked surprised at that.

"I can't believe people bought that."

"Most people get their information from the pharaoh or the priests, it's not that much of a surprise. The only time that's been in contradiction was during the reign of the Heretic Pharaoh Akhenaten, but we'll talk about that later. But do you understand what Ramses did?"

Kisara responded to that.

"He…lied through his teeth?"

"He used what facts he had to make the most of it for himself. It wasn't about what happened or what he believed, and I certainly believe that Ramses thought it was a failure, it's about how you portray it. How you react to it. It's not too different in the royal court. Act how's expected in public, but keep your true feelings in the only place it's safe, your head."

Nephthys seemed to think before adding something else.

"Also, you might want to keep your thoughts about the pharaoh's divinity in your head too. It's a very serious thing and no one is allowed to get away with it, not even those closest to the pharaoh."

Kisara nodded her head in understanding.

"Yes, Lady Nephthys. Will I always have to live like that?"

Nephthys shrugged.

"Perhaps one day you'll learn the way to merge the two lives, but that's doubtful. I've always had to do such."

Kisara looked slightly depressed then.

"So that's my future? Lying to everyone who I am for the rest of my life?"

Nephthys spoke after that.

"Such is the life of a princess."

Kisara sighed as Nephthys realized the last statement didn't help. She thought for a moment before she spoke again.

"I suppose it's time for a break. Kisara, would you like to see the gardens?"

Kisara looked up at that.

"Gardens?"

* * *

Kisara left out a sigh in relief as she sat by a nearby pool, her eyes taking in everything.

_This is amazing!_

It truly was. Kisara had always known the herb garden her Amma had always grown, but she had never seen a garden inside a person's residence, let alone a palace. Nephthys had left her alone for a moment to really see it, though she strongly told her student not to wander off.

Still, the greenery was amazing in this desert climate that was prevalent just outside the palace walls. So many flowers and fruit trees, the smell was so nice. Of course the small pond was what Kisara was currently looking at, with its lotus flowers, as she twirled her finger around in the water, savoring the wetness.

But something made her pause as she heard a faint noise. She listened and she heard something.

"Mrr?"

Kisara turned her attention away from the water, her hand out of it as she began to seek out where the noise was coming from.

"Hello?"

Her voice seemed to startle some a bush into rustling. Kisara warily made her way over to it, pulling back the leaves to find something she hadn't expected.

A slim black cat seemed to batting it's paws at a small ball. The loss of its shade made the cat look up with its green eyes at the pale girl.

Kisara felt the immediate urge to pet it, but she started with her hand slowly to it.

"Aw, what are you doing here?"

The cat seemed slightly wary of her, but as the girl began to stretch behind the ears the cat relaxed. Even more so when the pale hand began stroking her back, scratching it a very nice spot.

Kisara smiled at the effect she was having on it as she lowered herself to sit on the grass. One of the nice things about animals, was that they weren't scared of her. At least not as much as they were scared of people in general, but animals always seemed to like her.

The cat was currently becoming her new best friend as the ball was forgotten and it rolled over onto it's back. Kisara started to scratch the cat's tummy(which revealed it to be female) as it arched it's back in pleasure at the touch.

Kisara's smile became softer.

"Well, it's nice to have one friend here. Though if some else had food, you'd probably leave me too."

The cat sat up at her voice and light green made contact with blue eyes. It stretched itself up and found her way into Kisara's lap. The black cat curled up there and began to purr lowly.

Kisara chuckled as she began to scratch a little soft spot by the neck, causing the purring to get louder.

Another chuckle soon resounded behind her.

"Well, look what I have here."

Kisara turned around to discover Nephthys looking incredibly amused.

"It seems like my lesson about respecting cats isn't necessary."

Kisara looked slightly confused even as she kept petting the black creature.

"Respecting?"

Nephthys nodded.

"Yes, cats are the representatives of the goddess Bastet. Most pharaohs were buried with their mummified pets, but there are many cats among them. To kill a cat, even by accident, means death."

Kisara looked back down at said example in surprise.

"Wow. Where I come from, animals like cats were just meant to be scared away or killed because they ate food and attacked the other animals."

"I'm starting to understand how this is all starting to be a little too much for you. It sounds like your homeland and this kingdom were quite different from each other."

Kisara had to smile at that.

"That's true enough."

Nephthys smiled as she looked around before her head stopped. Kisara was surprised as she turned in the direction of where the priestess was looking, but found no one there so turned back to her mentor.

"Lady Nephthys?"

That shook Nephthys out of whatever she was thinking.

"Oh, yes. Well I suppose now that we've had a break, it's time to be getting back to our lessons."

Kisara nodded, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

"Yes Lady Nephthys."

"And please leave the cat here Kisara, it will go back to its owner eventually."

Kisara looked down at the cat with a regretful expression and sighed. She carefully gathered up the cat and set back onto the green grass, meowing in some protest.

"See you around kitty."

Kisara stood up and began to walk back with Lady Nephthys as her guide, back to reading about the Egyptian gods and the men of history.

* * *

**V.E.: Well, that was less stressful than I thought it would be. This strikes me as quite the filler chapter, but nothing's really happening yet. And to any of you who's wondering, Nephthys did see something but I'll get to that later.**

**In my experience, cats can be sweet or the devil incarnate. My aunt had three cats; Mickey, Minnie, and Buzz. Buzz didn't mind me, Mickey was a sweetheart, but Minnie was an absolute nightmare. Though to be honest, I'm more familiar with dogs than cats.**

**Please review.**

**Preview: Kisara meeting some people we know and a surprise gift from a surprising giver. **


	6. An Encounter and Two Gifts

**V.E.: Well, this is the first time in a while that I've broken my regular cycle of updating, but the Mummy Reborn has been giving me a lot of trouble. So what better way to come up with some ideas? Work on something else! That was my brother's advice from a couple of years ago. It's certainly a lot more helpful than my father's.**

**Besides, I've been waiting to introduce the following two for a while now and it seem like there have been no stories I like that have been updated recently.**

**Disclaimer: Do not bother the rabid dog, her owner, or her father. Trust me, it's not worth it by sending imaginary lawyers.**

* * *

Kisara hummed as she walked down the hallways back to her room, though in no apparent hurry to get there as she paused to admire some of the spectacular paintings in detail that she had never been able to before. Sometimes she would try to guess whether it was a god or goddess she had been studying about, but she eventually moved on.

For the first time in a while, she had been left alone. She had been already for continuing her lessons today, but it seems as if Nephthys had received a vision that could not wait. Femi had her own duties so she asked if Kisara could see herself back to her own room.

Kisara assured the dark skinned servant she could, though not without a warning to not wander away in curiosity. She had half a mind to disregard it, she was sick and tired of everything and wanted to explore this place, but she knew that there was a reason for that. Though she did wish her teacher would share that reason.

And besides, she never said she would rush right back and stay there.

She passed through the deserted halls with ease, though it struck her as rather lonely. She sighed as she dealt with that feeling, all this time since entering the palace and the only people she interacted with were her teacher and the several servants assigned to her mentor. She still had yet to come across any people around her age.

The last thought made her twist her hands. She didn't have any friends back home, why did she think that it was going to be any different here? She should be grateful people weren't staring at her…that she was safe and well cared for….that no one aside from Nephthys was willing to look her in the eye and be kind to her….

Her head sagged even more at the depressing thoughts, but she was stopped in her tracks by an unusual sound.

Kisara gave a circular glance at her surroundings, then stopped with a puzzled expression with no sound forth coming. She felt her shoulders shrug.

_Must have imagined it._

But just as she was about to resume movement, she heard the sound again, making her freeze. Now that she listened again, it almost sounded like something was clattering toward the ground. Her blue eyes were roving even more as she spied a beautifully decorated large vase, her vision moving past it as it moved.

Kisara's eyes went wide as she realized what she saw and went back to the vase, slowly approaching it. The vase rustled once more as Kisara' footsteps were heard approaching before lying absolutely still.

Her hands went to her hips as she studied the vase, her head bowing low to examine the bottom of the vase. Her fright wearing off, now only curiosity remained though it was guarded curiosity. Nephthys had warned her that there were times a poisonous snake would get into the palace and hide itself in places no one expected.

Just to be safe, Kisara didn't reach into the pottery. She put her ear to it and used her right hand to knock on it several times.

A small and almost unnoticeable giggle came from the vase.

Kisara felt her face go blank as she rose from her spot and peered into the vase.

To find that it was already occupied by something. A human something.

"Oh, you found me!"

Kisara felt herself taken back as a small girl popped out of the vase. Whatever she expected to find in the vase, this was not it.

The girl seemed to be stretching her arms, her lower half still hidden in the vase. From Kisara's guess, she was definitely younger than herself by a couple of years. She seemed to be dressed in a creamy white dress and a rather unusual white hat over messy brown hair. Her grin wasn't failing under green eyes accented with some kohl. Kisara was certain she wasn't a certain, especially because of the simple ruby necklace.

As she went on stretching, the nameless girl filled the silence.

"Well that's good, although it was Mahad's turn to be 'it.' But you know, it does get uncomfortable in there when you're there for who knows how long. Granted I'm so used to hiding in these I can go for almost three hours without coming out. Sometimes, I can go longer if I have some food with me."

Kisara was still in the middle of her shock, but she managed to speak.

"Ummmm, I'm not sure…."

At that, Mana stopped stretching and looked right at Kisara. She got out the vase and got right over to Kisara and looked her up and down. After a moment of thought, she spoke with surprise.

"Wow, are you really that pale?"

Kisara cringed before she answered.

"Ummm….yes?"

The brunette lit up at that.

"That's so cool! I mean sure, some of the northerners are pale, but not like you! Hey, what are you doing around here?"

Kisara gestured to their surroundings.

"I was just looking at the walls."

The stranger nodded in understanding.

"Oh, I know what you mean! My first couple of weeks here, I couldn't stop looking at everything. I must have gotten lost like a dozen times or so! We don't usually play hide and seek inside the palace since there are so many places you can hide, but Mahad said we could do it today. Though, I think I'm a little farther away than he meant. You're the first person to see me in a while!"

Kisara was unsure what to say before the green eyes lit up realization.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Mahad says it's impolite to talk someone on and on and not introduce yourself. I'm Mana, what's your name?"

Kisara spoke softly.

"It's Kisara."

Mana looked a little puzzled at that.

"Kisara, that's an interesting name. What are you doing in the palace anyway?"

Kisara opened her mouth and was about to say something when a voice interrupted her.

"MANA!"

The two girls to find a boy around Kisara's age approach them. Just like Mana, he was a brunette with longer hair in white clothes though adorned with a golden neck collar and belt. He also had kohl around dark navy eyes and had just as tan skin. If she had to guess, they looked like siblings. He did not seem to be in a good mood.

Mana lit up as she skipped over to the older boy.

"Mahad, you found me!"

That didn't really help his mood.

"Yes and it took me almost two hours! Didn't I say to hide in the places near the garden?"

Mana laughed uneasily as she put her hand in her hair behind her head.

Mahad sighed as his eyes wandered over to Kisara for the first time who raised her hand and waved.

"Hello."

His eyes widened in realization as he looked her up and down and rounded on Mana.

"Mana, I thought we were told specifically, not to go in the palace near Nephthys' room."

Mana looked confused at his words.

"But I'm not near her room…I'm near….well…that is…"

Mahad sighed.

"You got lost again, didn't you?"

Mana cringed.

"Ummm….maybe?"

Kisara spoke at that.

"Oh please, I don't think she's in any trouble….."

Mahad turned to her with a more calm face.

"Please forgive us for the intrusion, we won't bother you anymore."

He turned to Mana at that and grabbed her hand as he began to lead her away.

"Now come on, Mana!"

Mana seemed to resist at that.

"But I want to stay and talk to Kisara some more."

"MANA….."

Mana shrugged at that.

"Alright, alright."

She turned back to Kisara with a smile.

"See you soon Kisara!"

At that, Mahad hurried her away down the halls, leaving Kisara just as alone but more confused than before.

* * *

Femi knocked once more on her teacher's door as Kisara stood once more in the early morning as she once again recalled the events of yesterday. The sweet sound of the musician's harp came from within.

Nephthy's voice answered, as calm and serious as ever.

"Come in."

Femi opened the door as Kisara went in there as fast as she could while still looking dignified. She stopped in surprise as she realized that her teacher wasn't at the desk as usual and there wasn't a court musician in there.

In the center of the room, Nephthys was on a new chair as she strummed along a harp. The sound made Kisara close her eyes and think of rain, something she had not seen in quite some time. Each cord seemed to summon its own watery drop into the green forest that was her home once. For a couple of moments, she lost herself to the melody and her memories.

Finally, though the song ended and Kisara was brought back to Egypt and reality and opened her eyes.

Nephthys breathed in relief as she leaned back into her chair, with a smile of calm bliss as if she too was taken in by the music. Then she sat up and nodded to Kisara.

"Good morning Kisara."

Kisara felt herself work her way to the hapr, carefully touching the body.

"I did not know you played the harp."

"I am not a court musician, but I play well enough that if the pharaoh asked me to play for the Royal Court, I wouldn't embarrass myself. You just haven't known since I haven't had it out during our lessons."

Nephthys got up and led Kisara over to their usual place, sitting down in their respective chairs.

"Now, from what I know, you had an interesting meeting yesterday."

Kisara felt herself redden.

"I didn't mean to….I mean…"

Nephthys smiled at her.

"It's alright. Neither you nor her are in trouble."

Kisara raised her hand to her neck. She still felt a little nervous when discussing the golden Item around her teacher's neck.

"I didn't say anything. Umm, did the necklace….?"

"Show me? No, but I heard from Rashidi how Mahad was lecturing Mana. He said he was slightly impressed, the day had come when his student didn't need to hear a lecture and instead gave one."

Kisara's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Student?"

Nephthys nodded.

"Yes, Mahad is Rashidi's apprentice. When he retires, Mahad will inherit the Millennium Ring and become a Sacred Guardian. Mana is also a magician in training, though not nearly as schooled as Mahad is. She's allowed a bit of leeway with some rules."

"Are they siblings?"

"No, though I can understand why you would think that. Almost everyone assumes they are siblings when they meet them, but no. Mahad is the only son of a nome ruler while Mana is an orphan from an out there farming village. Both of them possess great magical talent and are quite close to the young prince."

Kisara felt her eyes widen in understanding.

"Oh…the prince…."

One of the people who seemed, for the most part, ignored her very existence. She hadn't seen him at all since their shared outburst in the throne room. And, from what it seemed of Mahad's reaction the other day, he certainly didn't look like he was warming up to her.

_No wonder he was in such a hurry to leave. As his friend, he wouldn't want to be with someone he dislikes so much._

She was taken out of her thoughts by movement as Nephthys made her rise from her seat and take her back to where the harp before stopping.

"Now, do you know what I'm thinking of you learning for today?"

Kisara took a guess.

"Umm…..about Hatti since the new representative supposedly arrives tomorrow?"

"No, good guess though. No, today you will be learning the harp."

Kisara felt her eyes go wide as Nephthys directed her into a new chair pulled up by Femi, beside her own.

"Harp?! But it looks so difficult!"

Nephthys took her seat once more.

"Everything is difficult at first, but enough time and practice can allow you to learn just about anything. I noticed the other day when some of the musicians came by to play, you were listening quite closely. And the day before yesterday you seemed to be softly singing when I left you alone."

Kisara nodded. True, she was listening because she felt it was such a difference from the regular routine. She didn't know her teacher noticed her song.

"Yes, it was a lullaby my Amma used to sing to me."

"Well, as good a student you are, you also need something to do that's your own. A hobby of sorts and I thought music would be a good fit for you. If you do not wish to work on the harp….."

Kisara shook her head, as a matter of fact intrigued.

"No, no it's fine!"

Nephthys straightened herself up, looking at Kisara while her hands were near the strings.

"Very well, but listen. With a flute or a lyre, you're only one a group. But with a harp, you're alone onstage. We'll first lean notes than melodies. In time, I will teach you to sing some of our songs to the music. I will send over a harp of your own to your room so you can practice. Now, pay attention well."

At that, Nephthys' right hand neared a string plucking it gently as Kisara merely watched.

* * *

Kisara sighed as she closed the door of her room behind her. Though exhausted, the lesson with the harp was perhaps the most fun and interesting lesson she had gone through yet.

She turned forward a harp of her own near the desk with Femi nearby, inspecting it's place. And out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small basket, shut with its lid, on the desk.

She nodded to the dark skinned woman.

"Thank you Femi."

Femi bowed to Kisara before getting the basket off the desk.

"You're welcome my lady. But there's also this."

Kisara took the straw basket from her hands, looking at it quizzically.

"A basket?"

Femi looked slightly less confused as the young girl.

"It was on your bed when I got here. It is not from my lady, I can tell you that."

Kisara looked at it a couple more glances before she heard a quiet muffled sound.

"Mrr."

She glanced down at the basket and lifted up the lid.

The head of a fluffy pure white kitten popped out of the straw basket. The bluish gray eyes flickered around before settling on Kisara.

Kisara felt a smile break out on her face.

"OHHHH."

She placed the lid on the desk as she walked over with the basket container to her bed. She sat down and placed the container right side up. The kitten made a couple of attempts to get out of the semi cage before tipping it over along with itself on to the bed(revealing it to be female).

Kisara picked up the kitten gently, it was so soft in her hands. Bringing it to her neck, she stroked the little one's back causing a soft little purr. The little kitten was snuggling up close to Kisara like she was her mother.

Kisara still stroked and cuddled it as she spoke again.

"She's pretty."

Femi looked at that cat for a little while.

"Well, pretty as it is, I wonder where it came from."

"I don't care, I like her and I'm keeping her."

Femi sighed at that.

"I might have expected that. I better get a bowl and pan to train that thing."

With that, Femi left the room and closed the door in semi hurry.

Kisara's attention went back to the cat.

"Don't worry. I'm new here too. I guess we'll both be the pale haired ones in this palace. It's nice to have some company for once. But you need a name, I just can't call you Cat or Kitten Fluffy Girl as amusing that would be."

She thought for a moment before her mind lit up.

"Well, I'm not sure if this is an actual name, but I think I'll call you Neftis. That sounds like a good name."

* * *

**V.E.: Alright before you get on me, I know Neftis is not a real name. It's in honor of yamineftis on deviantart, who's OC Neftis is Kisara's sister. I thought it would be an interesting thing.**

**Strings(like the violin and harp) always remind me of water. Piano reminds me of snow. Yes I know, I have strange mental images.**

**Now who sent her? Well, that will be my secret for now. Hope you all enjoyed Mana and Mahad's appearance, they won't show up again for a while.**

**PLEASE…REVIEW**


	7. A Future Diplomat

**V.E.: Well in the next two chapters if I am lucky, this story will succeed the 100 review mark. Next chapter I think, I'll have Nephthys and Kisara leave the regular places and get a little bit more detail into the magical side of this story **

**For the most part, I've been focused on Kisara's studies. But there's actually a very good reason I have because of the role she's going to have to play in the future. I've had to think about what she's going to be like and what she's going to take charge of. Of course, she'll be a princess, but I want her to have a role beyond that of a simple princess. You might have guessed this from Nephthys though.**

**I also hope to introduce more of the character later on though. I know how much people liked the appearance of Mahad and Mana in the last chapter. I hope to work in some of Shimon and Aknadin in later chapters, because of how important they'll be in the future. And I know all of you are waiting for Atem to bond closer to Kisara along with Seto's reappearance. Heads up, the later won't happen for a couple of years at least.**

**Disclaimer: Technically, this idea could be made to stand on its own and would probably make an interesting historical fiction. However, the characters(aside from Nephthys and the cuddly Neftis) and the story setting is not mine.**

* * *

Kisara concentrated very hard as she sketched onto her papyrus, looking up every couple of moments to make sure she was getting it right.

"You know, if you keep moving like that, I am never going to get this picture to look good."

The snowy white kitten looked up from playing with its ball for the moment, before going back to its pleasurable enjoyment. Kisara sighed as she tried to continue on. Finally after some time, she stopped her scribbling and looked back at it.

She walked over and sat on her bed, where her model was now climbing onto her lap. Unrolling the papyrus wide, the pale haired girl glanced down to her cat before glancing back to her drawing.

"Well, what do you think? Pretty good likeness?"

A rather goofy looking thing with very tall triangle ears, two mismatching shaped eyes, and incredibly huge claws coming out of its paws was playing with a small ball.

"HISS!"

And with that, Neftis batted her small paws at the thing.

Kisara sighed.

"You're right. I should stick to music and not art."

A rap on the door disturbed the otherwise quiet of the room, an unusual thing since she wasn't expecting anyone.

Kisara set off her drawing to the side, as Neftis decided to play with the piece of papyrus.

"Come in!"

The doors opened to reveal Femi as composed as ever as she bowed her head to the young girl.

"Lady Kisara, Nephthys wishes she might have your presence in her room."

Kisara felt her face grow puzzled, her drawing forgotten to her right now as Neftis was having some fun with it.

"Now? But she said that there wouldn't be any lessons today."

Femi nodded.

"It is not a lesson, but still my lady."

Kisara sighed as she grabbed her horrible drawing back from Neftis, who was about to push it off the bed.

"Very well, I'll be ready in a minute after I deal with my little friend."

Femi looked a little amused as she stared her younger charge on.

"I can take care of the cat, my lady. Go."

Kisara got up, favoring the dark skinned servant with a smile as she had found that the servant did not have the best luck with animals.

"Thank you."

She walked past Femi who warily began to approach the kitten who had met her eyes, and walked through the path to Nephthys' room she had come to know by heart. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what Nephthys wanted her for. After being told otherwise yesterday, she had been looking forward to a day off to simply and relax. Even if she was confined to her room with just her writing, harp, and the cat; a break was a break.

As she came to the door, she rapped on it several times quickly; an answer coming more slowly.

"Come in, Kisara."

Still a little unused to Nephthys always knowing who was at her door(Kisara privately suspected it had to do with the Necklace of hers), Kisara nevertheless pushed open the door to find Nephthys not the only person in the room.

Nephthys was chatting to the two servant sisters, Akila and Dendera. Kisara had seen them in Nephthys room attending her and her teacher, but she hadn't really spoken to them since they had given her a bath the first day in the palace. They seemed to be looking very excited at whatever Nephthys was nodding yes to.

On cue, Nephthys turned and beckoned to Kisara.

"There you are, come here."

Kisara slowly came over as she noticed the two sister's smiles were being aimed at her. Cautiously, she felt her voice come out.

"You summoned me, Teacher?"

Nephthys nodded once.

"Kisara, do you know why I keep Femi as a servant?"

Kisara thought for a moment before answering.

"Because she's reliable and gets her work done quickly and with discretion."

Nephthys graced her with a small smile before turning her head towards Akila and Dendera.

"Good to see your observational skills are still sharp, but you've been around her so much it's not surprising. Do you know why I keep Dendera and Akila?"

Kisara shook her head, though Nephthys didn't seem surprised.

"It's alright. As a priestess and member of the pharaoh's court, I have to look my best. I often send Akila to buy new clothes, jewelry, and wigs for me and helps me dress. Dendera, on the other hand, is quite the makeup artist."

The Egyptian woman shot a rather piercing glance at her two servants.

"Though at times their mouths run away with themselves and they are constantly amusing themselves with gossip, they are the best I know. They're like big girls, beautifying people rather than coloring wooden paddle dolls."

To give them their credit, both women seemed a little sheepish at the priestess' words. Kisara felt her eyebrow raise in question.

"I suppose everyone has faults."

Nephthys smirked.

"Yes and today, you will be their doll."

Kisara felt hers go wide though she still managed to keep some composure and her voice even.

"What?"

Akila hurried over and crushed Kisara's lungs in seconds.

"Oh I can't take it anymore! She's so cute!"

Dendera seemed the more cautious of the two as she reproached her sister.

"Calm down, Akila. We have work to do."

"Sorry. It's just I've been dying to get my hands on her since she got here! I mean, can you imagine the look on Maibe's horsy face when I tell her at dinner tonight?"

Kisara's eyes went terrified at the 'get my hands on her.'

Nephthys seemed to only find some amusement in Kisara's discomfort.

"I would like my student to finish this intact, so nothing too extensive ladies. It's not like she's attending a festival at the temple, so not too much make up Dendera."

The lighter eyed twin nodded in agreement.

"As you wish, my lady."

Nephthys smiled, turned and walked away.

"Then by all means, have at her. I'll see you in a bit, Kisara."

As the door closed behind the woman, Kisara couldn't help but shoot a resentful glance in her teacher's direction. However, she didn't have much time as she felt Akila pull her away into Nephtys robing room.

From what Kisara had found out about the palace, was that every bedroom had a robing room to keep her clothes, jewelry, and wigs as well as cosmetics on a small table in front of a mirror. While most robing rooms were as small as Kisara's and no more than the size of a small closet, Nephthys' was bigger though not nearly as big as her own room. There was a small seated chair and table laid out with many cosmetics. All the dresses were hung around her as baskets were also there with the wigs.

Before she could take any more in, she was force seated into the chair with a clear look at her reflection in the copper mirrors. Dendera titled her head side to side, glancing to her darker eyed sister.

"What do you think?"

Akila sighed.

"Well, I'd say crushed lapis lazuli, malachite wouldn't do it justice and she's too pale for mother of pearl. But that would be a waste since she'll be washing it off soon anyway."

Dendera sighed as her thumb rubbed Kisara's cheek.

"I say it's almost a waste to use makeup, she has such nice skin. She almost doesn't need it, but you know me. I'll start with the creams and then use the gold dust. She's too young for the wide sweeps of kohl, but to the temples should be fine."

Akila nodded as she ran her hand through Kisara's silver hair, officially freezing Kisara.

"I say it's a waste to put that hair behind a wig and I won't do it. So, gold jewelry definitely?"

Dendera nodded as she scooped a blob of cream out of a jar and began spreading it over Kisara's face.

"Definitely. What about the color of the dress?"

Akila turned to the dresses, scanning them with a critical eye.

"White seems such oblivious color, but with her eyes I can see some blues and purples, don't you think?"

Dendera gazed into Kisara's slightly terrified eyes and nodded curtly.

"It would."

Kisara gulped as she felt her head pushed back into mirror gazing position. She was to terrified to speak as she went through the beauty treatment of creams and oils. Her own golden jewelry was soon removed by Akila who nodded to her.

"Please rise, Miss."

Kisara uneasily got up and Akila straightened her to take off the simple white dress Kisara was wearing. Immediately, she several dresses in Kisara's size, slipping it over her head and straightened out. But almost after she did that, she seemed to slip it back off and Kisara wouldn't chance a look until she had finally settled on a light sky blue.

Kisara took a look at the reflection in the mirror. It went down to floor without any sleeves, baring her shoulders and neck while it hugged her body in a very form fitting way. It felt almost lighter until Akila fastened a golden belt with lapis lazuli around her waist.

At that, Dendera took out a jar of gold dust and gave Kisara a meaningful look. Kisara closed her eyes and the dusting began. Akila continued on through by taking some gold bracelets and slipping them down each pale white arm.

She took out an even bigger golden collar than Kisara's and Dendera stepped aside to allow her sister to fasten it. She also glanced at Kisara's ears as imagining earrings before turning back to her sister.

"We'll have to ask Lady Nephthys about getting her ears pierced."

Dendera only nodded as she took the kohl brush to do her work, delicately and precisely.

Akila's smile widened as she opened particular basket and gingerly picked up the headdress, a band of gold drops hanging down.

As Dendera stepped back and nodded at her work, Akila stepped forward to adjust the golden hair accessory. Adjusting it to seem most upward at tip of her forehead and letting the rest of it fall down around her hair.

She stepped back, her sister and her sharing identical smiles.

Nephthys came through the door in a foul mood that evaporated at what she was seeing.

"I can't believe that one eyed fool! Honestly, you think he would have gotten down…off his…high horse….by now."

Kisara seemed unsure of what was happening as she spoke.

"Can I open my eyes now?"

She took the silence as a yes and slowly did. Turning around, she found a stranger look back at her in the bronze mirror. The makeup accented the golden flecks on the lids of her eyes, the flecks drawing her attention to her golden head piece, belt with lapis, and three golden bracelets on each wrist.

Her hands went to the golden drops to adjust it, before Nephthys interrupted.

"No, leave it as it is."

The older women turned to her two servants.

"You may leave us now."

The two bowed their heads and left, though they lingered as if unable to taek their eyes off their latest creation.

Nephthys led Kisara out of the robing room, catching a glimpse of the two sisters leaving the room. She directed Kisara back to her usual seat and sat in her customary teacher's chair.

"So, not as bad as you thought it was going to be?"

Kisara shot her teacher a look of terror.

"Never put me on the spot like that again."

Nephthys shook her head.

"I can't promise that Kisara. You'll have to be able to think on your feet in the future, often without my help."

Kisara felt her hand go toward the hand mirror in the shape of an ankh on the desk, still taking a look at her reflection.

"I can't believe it. I really do look like a princess."

Nephthys smiled.

"Indeed, and now I think it's time I tell you exactly what kind of princess I'm training you to be."

Kisara looked up and placed the mirror back on the desk as Nephthys went on.

"Kisara, do you remember how I told you that Egyptian princesses were expected to be more than pretty?"

"You mean how you said there were many involved in court politics?"

Nephthys' eyes gleamed at that.

"Exactly. And do you know what it is about court I am specifically training you for?"

Kisara thought long and hard before shaking her head slowly.

"It seems as if you've been teaching me a little of everything."

"Perhaps that's true, but what I'm really training you for is for diplomacy."

Kisara was startled at that, but Nephthys went on.

"Kisara, haven't you ever wondered why I haven't allowed you to wander the palace?"

"It came across my mind a couple times."

"Do you know what the whole palace and the court has been gossiping about in over the month you've been here? You."

Kisara's eyes widened in surprise as Nephthys smiled.

"Everyone's been talking about you constantly. Femi has constantly been finding servants sneaking around your quarters, trying to catch a glimpse of you. And because they know so little, they keep talking about you. The mysterious girl from the street who saved the pharaoh's life, the girl who might become a princess. The pharaoh maybe considered divine, but you may as well be a goddess taken human form from the stories I've heard.

"You see Kisara, I used to think what Pharaoh Aknamkamon was thinking when he wanted you to be a princess. Now I see it's the only position you could have been given. You're much too pretty and did so much to simply be turned into a servant. If you had magic, you could have been trained as a magician but you don't. Still, your Ka is so powerful to simply allow you to leave. In short, the place you are right now is the only place you could have ended up."

Kisara ventured to speak.

"So then, when everyone see me…."

"They'll be floored at what they see. They'll expect a foreign girl, but you'll give them a Egyptian goddess taken human form. Impressing courtiers is one thing the Pharaoh needs."

Kisara's question must have showed on her face as Nephthys nodded before continuing.

"You see, Prince Atem is a very capable Crown Prince, make no mistake about that. But he tends to stay to Mahad and Mana. There's the chance he'll grow a wider range of acquaintances, but I doubt anyone will be close to him like those two. He knows magic, he knows how to fight, but when it comes to matters of state I get the feeling he find himself a little overwhelmed. The Pharaoh has been trying his best with peace, but with the court he's had some...difficulties. Someone needs to take charge of it before someone with a lot less nobler intentions does.

"But diplomacy is mainly focused on other nations. Between foreign princes and ambassadors, who do you think they will want to negotiate and be entertained with? Princesses have been also been known to serve as emissaries to other kingdoms in their father or brother's stead."

Nephthys lifted up the hand mirror, giving Kisara another glance at herself.

"And you'll stun them just as you're going to stun this court. Kisara, if you think you're beautiful now, wait another few years."

Kisara placed the mirror face down back on the table.

"But…I'm not beautiful. No one ever called me that to my face aside from Amma."

Nephthys' eyes seemed disbelieving at that.

"Not beautiful? If that's so, then I'm as dumb as a mule."

Kisara shifted uncomfortably at the praise.

"But I look so different."

Nephthys smiled at that.

"That's why you're beautiful. Those alone would draw anyone's eyes, but you really are beautiful Kisara. And when you've grown into a young woman, what do you think is going happen? All those foreign dignitaries and generals are going to take one look at you and fall in love with you."

Kisara felt herself blush at the very thought of everyone paying that much attention to her.

Nephthys caught her eyes.

"Not that I'm saying to fall in love with them in return."

Kisara felt a smile twist on her face.

"This is one of those things you never reveal in public, but keep to yourself, right?"

Nephthys smiled warmly.

"Good, looks like you're grasping the rules pretty well. But I don't think I'll need to teach you the finer details of flirting until you're older. I think we'll just focus on the court rules for now."

Kisara gestured to her outfit.

"Do I have to wear this kind of stuff in court?"

Nephthys gave a tiny shrug.

"Truthfully, it depends on the occasion. But you can go change now, if you want to."

Kisara smiled.

"No, I think I'll wear this for the rest of the day. It really is pretty. Do you want to go through a new lesson then?"

Nephthys smiled.

"I did say it was a free day dear. But I heard from Femi you've been practicing your harp. May I hear some of it?"

Kisara gave a great smile.

"Of course, Lady Nephthys."

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**V.E.: Oh my sweet chapter. Next time, I'll get more into the Kas and the structure of court. I'll even sneak in some other priests' appearances.**

**PLEASE REVIEW PEOPLE!**


	8. Magic Within

**V.E.: Hello again my darling readers! I've been in better moods recently, though I'm still pretty lazy. At the same time, this coming week is when all my appointments are. Doctors, Dentist, Driving; and they're all D's. It's been ok really. Though after having some chocolate cake last night, I could still be on that bliss.**

**Alright, now we're getting to an interesting part of the story. MAGIC. So there will be some appearance from some people we know and love from the magical standpoint of Ancient Egypt.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned this, I would actually have some money in my pocket since this is my most popular story right now. And do I need money.**

* * *

Kisara's face was downward at her hands, twisting themselves in agitation. A true testament to the state of her mind as she was trying to gather up the courage to ask something that had been burning in her mind from the first day she came to the palace.

Lady Nephthys seemed to notice her distress as she sat down in her regular chair beside her student, the light of the rising sun illuminating the room.

"Is there something the matter Kisara?"

Kisara took and a deep breath and went for it.

"Well, I've been wondering…"

She looked to her teacher for any hint of disapproval, but the older woman just nodded her head in encouragement.

"Go on."

"You said that the Millennium Necklace could show you the future. Are all the Items like that or do they have different powers? What are they and do they make the Sacred Guardians special in the place of the court? And what exactly do these Items have to do with Kas?"

Nephthys' eyes widened only briefly before a small smile graced her face.

"Ah, and tying your question to the lesson today. Don't worry, I'll get to your questions though next time you might not want to give your intentions away so quickly."

Nephthys settled herself comfortably, waiting for Kisara's complete and utter attention before going on.

"But first you have to understand the structure of court. Now what do you know about that?"

Kisara spoke then.

"Pharaoh is the ruler of all Egypt while he assigns other nobles to watch over provinces called nomes. A noble can petition the king for aid, though he must go through the other advisors and viziers and if they cannot help then he may approach the king."

Nephthys nodded, her eyes determined.

"Do you see a problem with the past history you've learned about compared to what I've been telling you that goes on today?"

Kisara was slightly puzzled at that before her mind realized it.

"There's usually two viziers, one for Upper Egypt and one for Lower Egypt. But I've only heard about Vizier Shimon."

Nephthys sighed at that.

"Yes, though most people tend to ignore it, Egypt has seen better days. You see Kisara, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt are currently divided. While the Pharaoh controls Lower Egypt, the priests and several nobles control Upper Egypt. Do you remember the assassin attempt you stopped?"

Kisara nodded.

"It's hard to forget something that changed my life completely."

"Well, most of the council thinks that it was an attempt from someone in Upper Egypt though we have no idea who. Pharaoh Aknamkamon has made it his best effort to try and find a way to reunite the kingdoms, but he's had some difficulties."

Kisara felt incredibly interested at that.

"What kind of 'difficulties'?"

Nephthys's eyebrows went up and Kisara immediately caught herself, reverting to a calm disposition.

"That is another story for another day. Let's settle one question at a time. Now, the Millennium Items changed all this by promoting six people to the utmost of the pharaoh's confidence. Only Vizier Shimon is higher and he is both a vizier and a Sacred Guardian which is pretty taxing on the poor man."

Kisara went back to her questioning ways as she spoke again.

"So then, what can the Millennium Items do exactly?"

Nephthys took some time gathering her thoughts for that answer, as she looked to be deeply thinking how to phrase it to her pupil. Finally, she answered.

"Well, all of the Millennium Items have similar powers. Using them, each of the Guardians can call a Shadow Game, send a person to the Shadow Realm, or use it to strengthen the Ka we summon."

Kisara opened her mouth, but closed it at the expression on Nephthys' face as the older woman's hands went to the golden eye necklace.

"Now going onto the specific powers. My Necklace has the ability to give me visions, mostly of the future, but there are times it will show me the past. Shimon's Key has the ability to show a person's Ka."

Kisara remembered when she had seen that Key glow.

"Like the time I was in the throne room that time?"

Nephthys nodded gravely.

"Yes, though that's the first time the Key has ever reacted on its own. As for Thabit's Scales, they can weigh a person's heart and show if that person is lying or not. The Ring can see into a person's soul and the Rod can force a Ka out of someone."

Kisara straightened up at that.

"Force a…..what for?!

Nephthys' look silenced her pupil as it seemed she was starting to lose patience with her student.

"We'll get to that later. Now Aknadin's eye can also see a person's Ka, but he can also read minds. Unfortunately, he had lose his real eye for that."

Kisara gulped at the thought of that Eye. She hadn't liked that Eye when she first saw it and she really wasn't liking it now. She decided to change the subject.

"Umm…what exactly can the Pharaoh's Puzzle do?"

Nephthys looked stumped at that.

"You know, I don't really know what the Millennium Puzzle can do. I think only the Pharaoh knows, he's never really shared the information. Still, it is the Pharaoh's Item and when he dies, it will pass to Prince Atem."

Kisara's mind flashed to the brunette around her age connected to that young prince.

"Like how Mahad will inherit the Millennium Ring from Master Rashidi?"

Nephthys nodded, her smile back.

"Yes, which is a good thing that the prince and him are so close. Almost all of the Guardians have a successor. Rashidi has Mahad, Thabit has his son Karim, Shimon has been training Shada so he can ascend to being a full time vizier eventually…"

Kisara made the connection at that.

"Does that mean you have a successor?"

Nephthys' smile widened even more.

"Yes, my niece Isis. She'd be right around your age, actually. I wanted to train her at the palace, but my brother in law was insistent that she shouldn't leave yet. Oh, it's been a long time since I've seen her."

Kisara was interested in the new found piece of information on her teacher's background, suddenly understanding why Nephthys was so tender to her at times.

"I didn't know you had family."

Nephthys sighed at that.

"There's not much to say. I had a dutiful sister who I loved very much, but eventually grew apart from. She married and died when my niece was still a child. We were poor and I was never interested in marriage so I joined the priesthood. I visited a couple of years ago and found out about Isis' talents. My sister's husband convinced me to let her stay for a few more years before her training really begins."

Nephthys got a very pensive expression at those words.

"I still wonder whether I should have agreed with him."

Kisara was saddened by the older woman's expression and tried to talk away from the subject.

"What about Master Khalid and Master Aknadin?"

Nephthys straightened up in surprise, but responded in her usual manner.

"Well, I don't know how that will work with that one eyed buffoon, but since passing down the Eye means taking it out of that priest's eye socket, I think we'll being passing on the Eye after Aknadin's death."

Kisara cringed at the disturbing and morbid thought. It had been definitely implied, not so subtly, that Nephthys, for some reason or other, had an incredible disliking for the one eyed priest. Although her teacher had yet to reveal the reason why, Kisara got the impression the feeling was mutual between the two.

Nephthys went, as if oblivious to her student's thoughts.

"As for Khalid, he simply says that he has yet to meet someone 'qualified enough' to be his student. He has almost the whole class of the magicians in training and he says they aren't good enough. I understand that the Millennium Rod is a difficult Item, but it's getting ridiculous."

Kisara let Nephthys catch her breath, leaving the room silent for a few moments.

Nephthys looked up after that, some amusement in her face.

"What? No more questions?"

Kisara sighed, her hands up at the question.

"Only, what exactly is Ka? And why one earth do you want to pull it out of a person?"

Nephthys got up at that.

"Well, I suppose it's time for a little field trip."

Kisara looked surprised at that.

"Field trip?"

* * *

Kisara followed Lady Nephthys more closely than before. Although Kisara had been eager to see more of the palace than she was used to, she was struck by the enormity of it all. She had to follow her mentor to make sure she wouldn't get lost or lose sight of Nephthys.

Still, she kept walking as Nephthys had taught her to, with grace like a lady and not seeming like she was rushing somewhere.

The two of them had passed by other people and servants, none of whom Kisara had ever seen before. With some shyness, she tried to stay as close to Nephthys as possible. However, it seemed as if everyone else tended to be staring at her rather than Nephthys.

_I guess Nephthys was right about me being the center of gossip._

Finally, the trek through the labyrinths of the palace led the two outside to where seven big buildings stood, each surrounded by four towering obelisks. Kisara followed her mentor into one of the shrines, not at all minding the heat of the day. But as soon as they were safely inside, she felt her jaw drop at what she was seeing.

The inside was covered with pictures of what seemed to be monsters. All over the wall, none of the picture creatures looked alike. It was all illuminated by the lights of torches inside, similar to all the rooms of the palace when the sun had set.

Yet, it felt nothing like the other rooms of the palace. For some reason, Kisara could FEEL power from here. As if those pictures weren't so harmless.

Nephthys gestured to all the pictures.

"This is my shrine and these are the Ka that have been trapped within."

Kisara was impressed as she felt a sudden enlightenment take hold of her.

"When you said, 'Tear out a Ka'…."

Nephthys nodded, getting closer to one of the pictures.

"Indeed. A Ka is literally a spirit that comes from a person's heart and are often empowered by a person's evil intentions. Whenever a criminal is brought before us, their Ka is often taken and sealed in a stone tablet."

Kisara felt herself pale at the thought of her dragon being sealed ins tone. She may only have a vague understanding of her Ka, but she knew that it would not have liked to been restrained. That and according to Master Rashidi, she would have been dead.

"But, why? I mean, it doesn't make sense to just seal a Ka in stone."

Nephthys turned back to her student, raising her arm to the attention of a strange golden bracelet on it.

"That's where this comes in. You see Kisara, normally a person can only summon their own Ka through intensive magic training. The connection you have to your Ka is rather rare, even more so considering you have no magic in the first place. But when a Ka is sealed in a shrine, the shrine's owner can use _this _to call out the monster."

The golden thing responded to that, folding into what appeared to be a golden wing to Kisara. There were three open spots on a specific 'feather' and on the bracelet part was a smilar open space that seemed to be lit up.

"This is a DiaDhank_._ Thanks to this, I can summon a creature from this shrine. I don't need it to summon my own Ka, but it will show up in one of these spaces regardless. This spot lit up is my Ba level. If it runs out, my life force is depleted and I'll die. So one always has to be careful in summoning."

Kisara just nodded in awe.

"I wish I could see that."

Nephthys smiled in some amusement at that.

"Would you then? I think that can be arranged."

Kisara lit up at that.

"As it turns out, I think it's around time for the magicians in training to be practicing that around now. We better hurry."

With that, Nephthys turned around and began to walk out of the shrine. Though Kisara still felt a need to linger in this strange shrine, she felt duty bound to follow her master along with satisfying her own curiosity.

As they were walking again, Kisara strove to catch up and keep cool as she noticed that Nephthys was taking her through places that had a lot more people and therefore had a lot more people staring at her.

_Just keep your cool, Kisara. The best thing you can do is make people think it doesn't bother you. If I do become a princess, this is what every day is going to be like for me._

Finally, Kisara took a breath in as mentor and pupil reached an open courtyard. Noticing two figures standing at opposing ends, Kisara stopped and wanted to study it more closely.

Nephthys had also stopped with her student, but she also smiled as she noticed some certain people crossing over to greet her.

"Rashidi, I didn't know you were supervising today's class."

The Master of the Ring simply dipped his head in acknowledgement, a small smile. Aknadin was by his side, as calm as he could be.

"Well, it was only fair that I share my wisdom with our new magicians while Akil was out visiting his brother."

Nephthys' warmth seemed to melt as she addressed the one eyed priest.

"Aknadin."

The priest didn't seem to take any offense as he spoke in an identical tone.

"Nephthys."

Kisara had turned her attention to the Guardians when they began to speak and was spotted by Rashidi, who looked only too glad to have something else to focus the attention on.

"I see you brought your new pupil. Here to watch?"

Kisara felt herself redden in shyness and bowed her head with a smile.

"Yes sir. Lady Nephthy was explaining to me about Ka and thought I would enjoy the demonstration."

Aknadin fixed his eye on Kisara, scorn evident in it.

"Well, at least she knows decorum."

Kisara gulped softly as Nephthys returned to glaring at the priest. For some reason, it seemed as if the Millennium Eye wielder had decided to dislike her just as much as he disliked Nephthys.

_Why did I think he was familiar again?_

At that thought, Aknadin's expression to change to intense concentration. Kisara felt like backing up even more, suddenly remembering what Nephthys had said about the Eye's powers.

_Please tell me he didn't just read my mind._

But before Aknadin's look could become even more scrutinized, the noise had become more pronounced and Kisara looked past it to see the two people stepping up at the courtyard.

One was probably a magician in training. He looked taller than her, his skin seemed bronze and eyes dark brown. His head was shaved bald aside from a lock of hair braided off to one side. His wrists were studded with gold bracelets and he had the white robes of everyone else.

The other person made Kisara's eyes widened as she had definitely seen him before.

There was Mahad who looked as stern and serious as when she last saw him.

Both of them seemed to be going into deep concentration, each of them surrounded by a shining aura. Mahad's was purplish while the other was a bluish green.

Rashidi clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"Alright, now when you're ready I want the two of you to summon your Kas and duel. Now start!"

The two nodded, the unnamed magician smirking at Mahad.

"Ready to get a taste of what real magic is like, Mahad?"

Mahad didn't break his cool.

"We'll see about that."

The responded in unison as their glows, glowing even brighter.

"DIAHA!"

The magician with the braid crossed his arms to his chest.

"Come out, Deepsea Warrior!"

At that, the light took on the shape of a human like character with blue and a visor with green scale like armor. He carried a trident like item.

Mahad reached out his hand to the sky.

"Now, Illusion Magician!"

The purple light flashed, to create a purple little magician with a little staff. It seemed almost kiddish compared to his opponent.

And sure enough, some of the surrounding watchers were laughing.

"Honesty, that's the best he can do?"

"It's kind of embarrassing to think that's the future master of the Millennium Ring!"

However, it seemed as if the current master had heard them as Rashidi has turned to glare at the two young men.

Kisara just considered the words.

_I suppose it doesn't look that strong._

But the moment she really fixed her eyes on the Illusion Magician, something just seemed to pulse at it. Her blue eyes widened as her hands were clenching, suddenly aware of seriousness on Mahad's face.

There was something more. Something powerful.

_What the….?_

Mahad directed his tiny spellcaster and pointed to the Deepsea Warrior.

"Now, cast Spell Binding Circle to bind it!"

Just as The tiny magician's staff glowed and cast the glyph that sailed toward the aquatic warrior, the other magician smirked and his hands were uncrossed to his sides and open.

"I don't think so! Negate Effect!"

His hands glowed red as the glyph disappeared and one hand pointed to the tiny little Ka.

"Now my Warrior, crush that pathetic excuse of a Ka!"

It seemed like the monster was very willing to oblige to his master's commands as he slashed his trident at the little spellcaster causing it to disappear and Mahad to clutch his chest in pain and drop to his knees, panting like anything.

The monster stood back with his summoner who seemed pretty smug.

"You were saying Mister 'I'm Too Pathetic To Even Be a Magician'?"

Mahad was still panting and could only glare.

The guy just 'hmphed' as his monster disappeared in flash of bluish green light and he turned his back to Mahad.

"Figures. A dog that can't even bark back."

Rashidi groaned.

"Excuse me while I deal with Bari. AGAIN."

As Rashidi left, Nephthys turned back to her student(completely ignoring Aknadin) to find a deep look of concentration on the pale girl's face.

"What's wrong Kisara?"

Kisara didn't respond.

_Why did he hold back?_

As if hearing her silent question, Mahad stopped panting and looked up to the crowd. Soon dark navy met bright blue in a locked gaze.

Immediately, Kisara felt her heart beat and her eyes went out of focus.

_The white lightning of her dragon as it roared…_

_A taller dark purple magician, almost human, directing his staff's attack at the dragon…._

_A lightning storm unlike anything she had ever seen….The ultimate clash of light and dark….._

"KISARA!"

The vision faded and she took a deep breath and found Nephthys looking at her concerned.

"Are you alright?"

Kisara just shrugged weakly, her eye contact with Mahad broken, not entirely certain of what she had just seen.

"Just tired, I guess."

Nephthys didn't seemed to buy that, but she nodded and took her pupil's hand and led her away.

"I suppose that's enough for today."

Kisara nodded weakly as she glanced one more time back at Mahad, who was looking at her with wide eyed disbelief, his breathing falling back to regular patterns.

Her eyes moved to the distance where Master Rashidi was having a talk with Bari, who wasn't so smug looking now.

Then her eyes found the Millennium Eye and Aknadin who seemed to be giving her a rather intense look before she turned around rapidly, resolutely determined to get as far away from here as possible.

Somehow, she got the impression that her life was going to get a lot more complicated than it already was.

* * *

**V.E.: Finally, done! You have no idea how long it takes to write a chapter!**

**Why do Aknadin and Nephthys despise each other? I'll get to that later.**

**It seems like Kisara seems to understand that Mahad is more powerful than most people think.**

**REVIEW! REVIEW!**


	9. Substitute Teacher

**V.E.: Welcome back to another well awaited chapter of Princess of Egypt! Summer is winding down unfortunately, and at this updates will come out less frequently. I can only hope to not abandon it completely in college.**

**So one might wonder exactly what the title is about? Well, Kisara is going to have another teacher this chapter. Or at least an examiner. I'll have to see how this goes. And after this, I guess I'll go and think out the next chapter on The Mummy Reborn. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Yugioh, I'm not sure whether I would have finished it. I still have yet write something of my own and truly finish it. Although, I do have some ideas for a manga despite my lack of artistic talent.**

* * *

It struck Kisara how strange it was, as she gazed at Nephthys' hand mirror, that how much time could pass and not much could change in a person's appearance.

True enough, in the several months that she had been living in the palace, the only physical change in her was her new clothes. Her hair was still as pale white as her skin and her eyes were still blue, though they looked even more serious and studious.

At the beginning, she had wondered which morning she would wake up and discover that this turn of events was nothing more than a dream. Slowly, however, she'd grown used to waking up to her room with its painted gods and dancers. Her lessons had become as happenstance as once journeying south had been over a year ago.

But the pale foreign girl had come to realize, as she examined herself in the mirror, that she would never truly be Egyptian. Sure, she could study lessons, dress the part, but she wasn't born here. Even if she had, Kisara doubted she would have been accepted as one because she doubted her looks would have been different.

Learning even more about Egypt's history, had made this become clearer to her. It was definitely implied throughout all the scrolls she could now read on her own, that foreigners(in particular foreign rulers) were not looked upon well in this society.

She shuddered at facing the court. She got the feeling she'd have to contend with Master Aknadin, at least.

_Don't think about that right now Kisara…Nephthys believes that you can do this. From what you know of her, would she have bothered with you if she didn't think you had a chance?_

At that thought, Kisara glanced up and put her mirror back on the desk. Where was she anyway? Now a days, the priestess would often leave Kisara to her scrolls as she watched in the background. She would only interrupt her student if it looked if there was some trouble, though she would stay with Kisara constantly through the harp lessons.

And she had definitely been there when she had settled into the writings earlier. However, it seemed as if her mentor had simply vanished into thin air.

Kisara tried to shrug it off.

_She probably just left the room to deal with a small matter. She does have her own duties outside of training you, Kisara._

With that thought in mind, the young girl turned back to the scroll's hieratic writing and several tablets inscribed with such writing. She had come to love reading them, though there were times she found them rather dry.

Sometimes she longed for the old tales of her village in the north; of monstrous trolls, spirits of the ancestors, and the heroic deeds of battles by mortals and immortals. There was a comfort of home she associated with them that she doubted she would ever feel for the stories of the gods of the Egyptian pantheon.

Maybe when the day came she could write better, Kisara would write them all down and keep them close to her, perhaps in her room. At the very least, there would be some record of her homeland in this strange land.

Then again, this land was longer as strange to her as when she first arrived. That must say something about her ability to adapt.

Immediately as she thought that, the doors to the room burst open and Nephthys came into her quarters with an air of great agitation.

Kisara rose from her chair at the surprise.

"Lady Nephthys, what's wrong?!"

It didn't seem as if her teacher had heard as it seemed she was thinking out loud, pacing back and forth.

"I cannot believe this!…without even some warning…..still, it isn't the worse thing I suppose…"

The pale student sighed to herself, rolling her eyes at her teacher. She cleared her throat, successfully gaining her teacher's attention.

Nephthys was actually pretty taken aback.

"Oh, umm….Kisara. My apologies, I forgot you were studying in here."

Kisara shook her head, not at all offended. It was her room after all.

"That's all my lady. Is something the matter?"

Nephthys' faced contained a rather small scowl.

"The pharaoh has sent for me to appear at court, right now. And after asking yesterday _specifically_ if I was needed….well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave right now."

Kisara's eyes widened, but she understood. In her learning on court etiquette, she had read the pharaoh's word was law, going against it could be seen as treason.

"Then, today's lessons are cancelled?"

Nephthys shook her head, a rather resigned look.

"Oh no, they're not."

To say Kisara was confused, was an understatement. Her voice made that clear.

"I don't understand."

Nephthys sighed and then went on to explain, a certain bit of resentment through her voice.

"It seems as if some of the priests have been wondering at the extent of the education I am giving you."

Kisara cringed at the bitterness, somehow she got the feeling _some priests_ translated to Aknadin.

The Egyptian priestess went on, regardless.

"As a result, the pharaoh decided to send someone to evaluate you and gauge your academic level. Another teacher just for today."

Kisara felt surprised at the idea of meeting someone and at the same time intimidated. Nephthys was a stern teacher, but she had been kind in her own way. She had no idea what this person was going to be like.

_They could be even stricter. And what would they think about how I look? Mostly, the servants just stared. Although, Akila and Dendera were more interested what they could do with me fashion wise._

She took a deep breath and steeled herself.

"So, who's going to be observing me?"

Nephthys cast her eyes at the doorway.

"You can come in now, old man."

At that, Vizier Shimon Muran, the Millennium Key strangely absent(he had lent it to Shada to use for the afternoon in his training, partially because he was worried about it reacting with Kisara again), came into the doorway and entered the room with a smile on his gruff face. A mischievous twinkle in his purple eyes was shot at the stern Lady Nephthys.

"You think that you would have learned, Lady Nephthys, to respect me after all these years of working together."

Nephthys gave a small smirk.

"As I recall, you were not always the dedicated and serious vizier that everyone calls you. What was that incident some years ago, involving the young princes and the banquet with visiting the King of Hatti? To my memory, it was their tutor who helped sneak in the those infernal bugs."

The aged vizier chuckled rather sheepishly, coughing slightly.

"Well, I was much younger then and a lot more influenced by the 'puppy dog' eyes from small children."

Nephthys shot an wry glance at her old acquaintance.

"One could question whether that has changed."

At that, Shimon simply chuckled. It struck Kisara as a kind of playful banter, not at the cold contempt that her teacher and Master Aknadin shared with each other.

_She must really respect him._

"You know Nephthys, I have to wonder how you know every bit of gossip in this court, past and present."

Nephthys simply smiled demurely.

"Good ears and an even better memory. Well, after having been a full time tutor to the terrible twosome and part time for our Crown Prince, teaching Kisara should be a rather relaxing break."

At that, Shimon glanced at Kisara and their eyes met. He looked back at Nephthys.

"We'll see. Don't you have to get going?"

Nephthys nodded to Shimon and then smiled at Kisara one last time.

"Alright, I get when I'm wanted gone. I'll see you later Kisara."

With that, Nephthys turned around and exited through the doorway, closing the door and leaving the twoalone together.

For a couple of minutes of awkward silence, Kisara felt her head go to her hands as they twisted themselves in a nervous habit.

Vizier Shimon noticed her nervousness as his eyes softened and he cleared his throat. Kisara looked up to find the old man smiling at her gently.

"Shall we get started?"

Kisara gulped, but was reassured and nodded.

"Okay."

Walking back to the desk, Kisara took her customary seat and sat herself back down. Shimon noticed the seat beside her and made the move to sit.

Glancing over at the scrolls after Kisara began to read, the vizier decided to comment his thoughts.

"So what exactly are you studying right now?"

Kisara kept her eyes on the scroll, but answered.

"About the Heretic Ruler Akhenaten and the Aten cult. During which time, the pharaoh abandoned the old capital and constructed a new capital called Amarna. He hoped it would stand for ages, but it was sadly abandoned after his death by his son Tutankhamen during his attempt to revive in Egypt's faith in the system of the old gods."

Vizier Shimon was quite taken aback by the blunt and factual way the foreign girl explained things. And even more so at realizing how advanced she was in history than she had previously considered.

Kisara looked up from her reading and, seeing the dumbstruck look, winced.

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?"

Shimon shook his head slowly.

"No, no you didn't. I just didn't expect you to say things so…."

Kisara cringed.

"Sorry, Lady Nephthys said you would be evaluating me and I thought that was how I should have answered."

"Not at all. Just out of curiosity, how is Nephthys teaching you these days?"

Kisara shrugged.

"Well, earlier Nephthys would supervise everything, especially when I was learning how to write. Now that I can read it without too much of a head ache, she just watches me study. Except when it comes to harp."

Shimon's eyebrow quirked in interest, taking note that Kisara had dropped the title.

"Aside from History, Hieratic, and Harp; what else are you learning?"

Kisara had to think about that for a moment.

"Basic Math, though to be honest it isn't hard. Before I learned history, I learned about religion and some odd facts. After I saw the Ka demonstration a while ago, my teacher has also been teaching me how magic is used. Mostly she's been teaching about court politics and other countries. She said that since I'm progressing so fast in hieratic, we would probably be able to move onto cuneiform soon."

Vizier Shimon did very well to maintain his outward façade, underneath he was quite impressed. Knowing Nephthys, it was probably a lot more intensive than the old man had previously thought.

Still, he kept his tone even as he spoke next.

"If I may….Miss….?"

"Please Kisara. I'm not a princess or a lady really."

Shimon nodded to that.

"Alright; Kisara; would you mind if I ask you some questions about all this?"

Kisara's hands were clutched in nervousness, but she restrained from gulping and managed a weak nod.

"Sure. Ask away."

* * *

Nephthys's face was a permanent scowl as she surveyed the options on the senet board before her.

She glanced back up at her pharaoh.

"You know how much I hate your games, right?"

The Pharaoh's expression didn't change at all as he began to get the sticks ready to be tossed. Aknadin was off to the side, merely watching.

"My Lady Nephthys, I don't know what you mean."

With the toss of the sticks and the moving of the pieces, Nephthys' reply came.

"Very funny, my pharaoh. You just wanted me here so that Shimon would able to examine the girl on his own."

Aknadin shrugged.

"Well, you can't have expected us to simply rely on your word alone about this girl."

This prompted another exchange of dark looks between the two Item wielders.

Aknamkamon cleared his throat, gaining the two's attentions effectively, and gestured at the senet game for Nephthys.

"Your turn, Nephthys."

Nephthys sighed, as she rubbed the sticks and tossed.

"I don't know why I even bother. Gods above know that you're practically unbeatable my Pharaoh."

The Pharaoh merely gave a sly smile.

"Oh, I don't know. I think in a few years, my son will be quite the player himself."

Nephthys gave him a hard look.

"Let's hope that statement only extends games, sports, and court."

The Egyptian woman's words succeeded in giving the Pharaoh and the wielder of the Millennium Eye minor blushes. They well aware at the _actions _of their former pharaohs(one such example being the pharaoh previous, their father).

Trying to disguise the discomfort, the current pharaoh feigned a cough.

"Is it my turn?"

The priestess nodded, knowing very well that what she had said hit home.

"Yes, go on."

But just as Aknamkamon was about to do so, the doors to the small lounging place was opened and there in the doorway stood Vizier Shimon.

Aknamkamon commented with some surprise.

"Shimon, I'm surprised to see you back so soon. I thought you would take the whole day."

As Shimon Muran walked over to the game being played, Nephthys commented as the sticks were rubbed and thrown.

"So, Vizier Shimon, was my pupil an apt student?"

Finally, standing right in front of her, the old man gave her blank look.

Nephthys was confused at his expression, but made no visible change.

"Yes, Shimon?"

"You said that Kisara was a very tolerable student."

Nephthys nodded.

"I did. Is there a problem with that?"

Vizier Shimon looked at her incredulously.

"Tolerable? TOLERABLE!? More like brilliant!"

At that, the old vizier collapsed into the chair beside the game and sighed.

Though all the three were stunned to silence at the aged advisor's pronouncement, Aknadin was the first to speak about it.

"Brilliant, _her_? Master Shimon, surely that might be exaggerating…."

Shimon shook his head.

"No, in fact now I find it a mere understatement. The amount of information that girl has absorbed is, quite frankly, astonishing. She answered every question I asked her, without fail. The only thing I can really say about her is her nerves."

Nephthys nodded in understanding.

"Yes, she can be a little shy at times."

Aknamkamon took all this information in, remarking when he was done thinking.

"She'll grow out of it, with time and practice."

Aknadin still seemed doubtful at the pronouncement.

"You're certain she's really that smart?"

Shimon was shaking his head in wonder.

"Indeed, it's even more impressive considering this isn't her home country. Well I must say Nephthys, she is a very quiet and responsible girl compared to my previous experiences."

Pharaoh Aknamkamon finally moved his pieces, his voice rather good natured.

"Oh Shimon, I don't think my son is that bad…"

Shimon shot a rather even look at his king.

"It was not to Prince Atem I was referring to."

That immediately silenced both Aknamkamon and Aknadin, and for a moment they were nothing more than school boys and princes being scolded by their Tutor Shimon with whacks to their hands(courtesy of the old man's whip). Even though it was so many years ago, both twins resisted the urge to rub the sting out of their hands.

Nephthys became rather solemn at those words.

"Speaking of Prince Atem, how is he doing?"

Aknamkamon snapped out of his musings at that.

"You mean he hasn't been to see Kisara?"

Nephthys shook her head.

"Nope; and though Kisara did meet Mana and Mahad sometime ago, she hasn't seen them since."

Aknadin looked interested at that.

"You think the Prince told them to stay away from her?"

Nephthys shook her head again.

"I don't know, but Prince Atem has been watching her. A couple of times I've been with Kisara in the gardens, I've seen the Prince observing her, sometimes with Mahad and Mana."

Pharaoh Aknamkamon inclined his head, willing to hear what she had to say.

"What do you propose we do about that?"

Nephthys gave her opinion with a frank look.

"At this point, nothing. We all know the Prince is a very shy boy, especially with strangers. Let him alone, we can't force them to like each other. In time, he'll approach her.

Aknadin gave a short nod.

"That would be the wisest course."

Nephthys shot a wry look at the one eyed priest.

"Oh Aknadin, don't tell me you're starting to change your opinions about that girl? One might think you care."

Even with one eye, the guardian could still glare.

"I never said that."

Nephthys simply 'hmped,' getting back to the game and picking up the throwing sticks.

"Alright then, you grumpy old man."

"You are hardly any younger than I am, _old lady_."

Vizier and Pharaoh simply shared a joined look of exasperation as the two Millennium Item wielders resumed their antagonism with each other. Then again, it would have been weirder to see those two getting along. The mutual dislike had become as commonplace in court as the air everyone breathed and Ra's rising every morning.

Aknamkamon spoke first, gesturing to the silent glaring contest. The senet game was pretty much forgotten.

"Perhaps we should just leave?"

The older man jumped on the opportunity.

"Good idea my Pharaoh."

The two stood up and immediately walked away, in attempt to get away before things got verbal again.

Once out of earshot, Pharaoh Aknamkamon turned to his old tutor. An incredible curiosity wasn't see on his face, but he couldn't keep some of it out of his voice.

"So, what exactly did she say?"

Vizier Shimon smiled, getting himself into a rather long story.

"Well, at first I asked her what she was studying and she said….."

* * *

**V.E.: Well, glad that that is over with! Well, now we know that Atem was watching Kisara that day in the gardens that first time.**

**Don't worry, I'll get more into their relationship in the next couple chapters. I've been wanting to do that from the start. Unfortunately, Seto won't be coming in for a long time. Probably after Isis has been properly introduced.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	10. To be a Sister

**V.E.: Well, I think this will be my final story update before I start college. I am both terrified and looking forward to it. What can I say, my mind is weird.**

**Okay, this is the chapter I know you've been looking forward to along with Seto's appearance (unfortunately, not for a long while). This story started out in my mind as a romance, but it has morphed more into a story about Kisara.**

**Don't get me wrong, there will be romance later on.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned this story, my college fees would be nonexistent and I would be traveling down to Disney World for a week! Have I mentioned how I love Disney?**

* * *

It was the most nerve racking lesson that Kisara had gone through since starting as Nephthys' student.

Not that the material was hard, in fact cuneiform was coming along quite well. She wished she could say the same about her math lessons, it seemed as if that beyond the basic lessons she wasn't as adept as she was at languages.

No, the thing that was bothering her so much was Nephthys' silence. A couple of days had passed since Vizier Shimon had examined her and the extent of her knowledge, days which she had spent in her room half-heartedly playing her harp. Even Neftis noticed her owner's nervousness.

Finally, today she had been summoned back to Nephthys' room to resume her lessons, but the priestess had yet to mention anything about it or tell her how well she had done.

To be frank, the suspense was killing her and she didn't know how much longer she could pretend to concentrate on this lesson.

It seems as if Nephthys' gift of reading faces was as strong as ever as she sighed.

"Kisara, you are going to have to learn to keep a straight face if you want to visit court. Remember what I said…"

Kisara picked up, remembering the words.

" 'Court is not a friendly game. It is a blood bath to the death some days. The only difference between a solider and a politician is that a politician smiles after he screws you over.' I think you made your point."

Nephthys kept her composure at the statement.

"Yes, although I doubt a lady would use 'screw you over.' Now, what is it going to take to get you back on track with your lessons?"

Kisara stopped herself from glancing downwards towards her hands. She knew it was a nervous habit and Nephthys told her she would have to break it eventually.

Nephthys sighed.

"Your nerves are something you need to take care of Kisara. Though I'm glad you're trying."

Kisara took a breath then asked what she wanted.

"Lady Nephthys, did I pass…the examination?"

Nephthys seemed very interested in the scroll she picked up from the desk.

"Well, you writing has certainly improved from when you first started. Now it's both legible and intelligent."

Kisara was ready to roll her eyes at her master at her impatience.

"My lady!"

Nephthys looked up from the scroll and placed it back onto the desk.

"Very well. You passed with flying colors."

Kisara looked at her teacher with a skeptical gaze.

"Seriously?"

The Egyptian woman met her head on in an even look.

"Kisara, when have you known me to joke about these kind of things?"

Kisara shook her head.

"Never?"

Nephthys gave her a rare favored smile.

"Precisely."

Kisara broke into a relieved smile at that.

"So then if I keep learning like this, I should be set when the time comes for me to be tested in a little over two months. Right?"

The priestess face changed from her less confidence to something that almost could be described as nervousness.

"Well…not exactly….."

Kisara's face morphed in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Nephthys tried to continue on.

"It has nothing to do with your studies Kisara."

She looked directly at her teacher, demanding answers.

"Then what is it?"

Nephthys sighed as she found herself into her customary chair. Finally, she looked up at her student.

"I told you the day we met that I was meant to tutor you everything that I thought an Egyptian princess would need to know."

Kisara nodded.

"Yeah."

Nephthys heaved another deep sigh.

"Well, there was a bit more to it."

Kisara straightened herself up to listen better as her teacher went on with the story.

"The Council set the test you're going to have as a requirement, but the Pharaoh added on another requirement on to that. Something I can't teach you about at all."

Kisara's eyes were still bewildered.

"What is it? What am I supposed to do?"

"Gain Prince Atem's approval."

That took Kisara by surprise as she almost jumped into the back of her seat. She honestly had no idea what to say to that.

"But…..but…"

Nephthys nodded.

"It was a rather unusual request, but as it was from the Pharaoh it was accepted."

Kisara looked up at her teacher in confusion.

"But….I haven't seen the prince since the day I came into the palace! He must know where I am, but he doesn't come."

The older woman's gaze softened at her student's words.

"Now you don't know that."

She looked at her teacher with all the frustration and fear that had been building up, then directing her head downcast.

"What am I supposed to think? Especially after the way Mana and Mahad behaved toward me, they're his best friends. The answer is simple, he just doesn't like me. He thinks I'm just some girl from the streets and it'd be better if I just disappeared."

"Kisara…"

She interrupted her teacher before she said anything else.

"Why? Why do I have to get his approval?"

Nephthys took a moment to think on that, leaving the room completely silent. Finally, she spoke up.

"Because you aren't just supposed to be a princess."

Kisara's head perked up at that.

The Egyptian priestess took that as a sign to continue.

"Let me tell you something, Kisara. If the matter was simply about 'being a princess', the Pharaoh could have picked any one of the pretty young ladies of the court to adopt. Many nobles would be proud that their daughter had been selected for the royal life, mostly because of the powerful position she would be in. Who knows what kind of favors they would receive? Particularly, if she became queen."

Kisara gulped as she remembered her studies into the Egyptian pantheon.

One of the things that she would never fully like about the gods of ancient Egypt was their inclination for incest. As a child, she had known that gods were above mere mortals, but for them to marry their sisters and brothers? Suddenly, her homeland's tale of a male god giving birth wasn't so strange. At least compared to this.

To add to that, the historical writings of past Pharaohs had troubled her even more. It turned out the birthright of the gods were often passed down through the queen mother and a prince had to marry into the line to assume the throne. Forget half-sisters, some pharaoh's married their full born sisters!

No one ever thought it strange because in the eyes of the people, Pharaoh was a god. By marrying his sister, he was behaving just as a god should.

Her teacher saw that she had found this out by looking at her terrified blue orbs.

"I see your reading has been progressing well….."

She was almost afraid to ask.

"I wouldn't be expected to….?"

Nephthys shook her head with a definite force.

"No, you would not have to, the king stated that specifically. But there are many conservatives and traditionalists at court, who do believe that it should be that way. Let's just say, part of the Pharaoh's trouble in court has been because of his more _progressive _rulings."

Kisara let out a deep breath of relief. Suddenly, she was struck by a sudden curiosity about her possible foster father. Why did he think this way about this? What were some of his more progressive rulings?

But before she could really ask about that, her teacher went on.

"Anyway, it would have been acceptable for Pharaoh Aknamkamon to do those things, since there is biological princess to the throne. While it is true a pharaoh will take foreign wives and concubines, it is expected that he will take an Egyptian queen. But he didn't. Then came you."

Kisara cringed at the tone, but her teacher's tone didn't seem to be hurtful. Rather, it seemed like she was praising her student, something she rarely did.

"You stepped in and saved the Pharaoh's life, with no ulterior motive to it. Your Ka is powerful, the day may come when you will have to learn to use it to defend Egypt. I have no claim to understand what goes on in the Pharaoh's mind, you'd be better of asking Shimon or the one eyed stiff. But something about you made a great impact on the Pharaoh that day, something that made him defy conventional reason and place you into a position most girls would kill for."

Kisara knew there was something else coming.

"But….."

"But it wasn't just a princess the Pharaoh wanted."

Kisara had lost the mental count of how many times she got confused in this conversation.

"True that's what most people think of when considering your position, but I know now as I knew back then that the Pharaoh didn't only want a girl who could be a princess. He wanted someone who could be a sister."

The young girl's eyes softened in understand. The teacher glanced back at her pupil before going on.

"The prince….is a very lonely child. From the moment he was born, he was born different. Being the Crown Prince, the one who will become a pharaoh, set him apart from other children. Aside from Mahad and Mana, there aren't any people around his age he can trust in. It doesn't help that he's incredibly smart and more curious than a cat about what goes on outside the palace, despite being so scared of strangers.

"He has the Pharaoh true, but the day will come when he can't rely on his father's influence. I get the feeling that the next transition towards Pharaoh will not be an easy one."

Kisara's frown settled into one of understanding. She could understand what it would mean to lose the person you loved most in the entire world. After Amma died, the only thing that had kept Kisara going were the threats of her captors whips.

After being in this gilded palace for almost four months coupled with her own experience, she could imagine how he felt. Everyone looking at you, knowing you were different from an early age. People whispering because you looked different, because you **were **different. Wanting to climb over the big walls to see beyond what was here. Lonely because there was no one to talk to, no one who could really understand what you were going through.

Nephthys sighed at the end, shaking her head.

"Well, I suppose there is nothing we can do about what the Crown Prince feels. I suppose we'll have to see the end result in two months. There's something else I would like to show you."

The Egyptian woman rose at that Kisara willingly followed her as she moved to a corner of the room. She stopped at a small table, arrayed like a board with many small pieces on the squares with something that looked like sticks of to the side.

Kisara voiced her question.

"What is it?"

"It's a senet board. Any true Egyptian should learn how to play this."

Kisara looked at her teacher, trying to discern her intention this.

"So I'm going to be learning how to play this game for the rest of the lessons' time today?"

Nephthys shook her head at that.

"Oh no, not today at least. We still have some cuneiform to go over, but I've already sent your own board to your room."

Kisara glanced at her teacher searchingly, getting the impression Nephthys knew more than she was saying,

"For what?"

Nephthys' eyes remained impassive as she walked back to their desk.

"For when you'll need it."

* * *

Plucking the harp strings half-heartedly, Kisara couldn't help, but wander back to her conversation between her and her teacher earlier today. Still, she did try to keep the tune the way she wanted it. She tried putting it to the old lullaby her Amma used to sing, but she was having trouble getting it just right.

Neftis didn't seem to notice her owner's state of mind, as she continued to play with her ball around the room though she continued to wander the new acquisition that was Kisara's senet board.

At thought, the pale haired girl turned her attention to said object and sighed.

_What am I supposed to do with a game board that I don't know the rules to?_

Yet even as she thought this, she knew Nephthys gave the senet board to her for a reason. The Millennium Item wielder rarely did things without some kind of purpose behind it.

_Well, my room's certainly getting smaller because of these gifts. Suddenly, I get the feeling I'm going to need a bigger room soon._

The meows of her little white fur ball got her out of her thoughts as she stood up and crossed the room. Carefully, she picked up the tiny little creature and held her near her heart, looking down at her questioningly.

"What do you think Neftis? Think we need a bigger room?"

As if answering her question, the little white kitten meowed then snuggled closer to her owner.

"Well in any case, it's about time you got dinner. I wonder where Femi is? She's usually here with it by now, despite your behavior towards her. You should by now she doesn't have the best experiences with cats."

Neftis seemed rather sulky at that.

"Mreow."

Kisara shook her head.

"You know, sometimes I wish you could answer me."

Before the cat could make a sound for its defense, there were three shift knocks on the door.

Kisara glanced down at the petulant looking kitten then turned her head to the door.

"About time, now you better behave yourself. Come on in Femi!"

Surprisingly, the doors didn't open to reveal the darker skinned servant with Neftis' bowl filled with her dinner along with Kisara's. As a matter of fact, the door didn't open at all and the three knocks were repeated.

Kisara glanced at the door before glancing down at Neftis, who met her gaze with just much curiosity.

The knocks resounded a third time and Kisara spoke as she placed Neftis on her bed before she crossed over to the doors.

"Alright! I'm coming!"

She opened the doors quickly before she stopped to realize who was there.

"Now what's going on…."

She was stopped dumbfounded as she found Crown Prince Atem standing right in front of her door. Luckily, she had managed to keep her jaw from dropping to the ground.

He was just as she remembered him from her first day in the palace, when he burst into the court to hug his father after the assassination attempt. The only difference between them and now was the way he was glancing nervously at the floor and then looked back up at her. He seemed like he was trying to figure out what to say.

In the end, it seems he opted for the simple route.

"Hi."

Kisara nodded her head slowly.

"Hello."

That left the two of them to an awkward silence in which neither knew what to say or do next.

Finally, Kisara decided to make the first move as she gestured inside.

"Will you…..come in?"

Atem nodded to that, keeping his words brief.

"Sure."

The young boy walked stiffly into the room as Kisara closed the door behind him. Silence reigned over between the two once more until Atem sat on Kisara's bed to which Kisara remarked to him.

"Please be careful, Neftis isn't exactly fond of anyone besides me and….."

But that didn't seem to a problem for the prince as Kisara saw. The little white kitten had climbed up onto the lap of the crazy haired royal who was currently stroking her back and being given contented purrs in return.

Kisara said her thoughts to the young boy with surprise.

"Well, I guess I don't have to worry about her scratching you like she did Femi."

Atem made sure to keep petting her at that.

"Of course not. She was the only one of the new kittens from the kitchen's cat that wouldn't scratch me."

Kisara's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"How would you know that?"

Then realization struck her.

"Wait, you're the one who sent Neftis?"

That froze Atem as he not considered telling her this. He tried to act as casual as a little kid could about it though, keeping his eyes on the snow white cat.

"Yeah."

Kisara wasn't satisfied with just that as a answer.

"But why did you do that?"

"Just cause."

"Just cause what?"

Atem still wasn't looking up at her.

"Cause I saw you earlier with the cat…and I thought it would be nice."

Kisara's eyes widened before settling back to their normal size. She proceeded to sit next to him on the bed.

"It was. Thank you, but why didn't you just give her to me, instead of leaving her in a basket in my room."

Atem still kept petting the little cat.

"I got Mahad to sneak her in. I didn't know what you'd think if you knew it was from me."

Kisara pulled her legs towards her, crossing her arms in front of them.

"I'm fine with it. If you wanted to give me something or come talk to me, all you have to do is see me."

Atem looked at her to his side at that.

"Really?"

Kisara nodded her head.

"Really, really."

Atem finally broke into a small smile, matched with Kisara's big warm one.

Neftis decided she had enough of one person's attention and hopped off the young prince's lap to the ground, going over to find her ball by the game table.

Atem's eyes lit u as he saw it.

"That's a…."

Kisara nodded.

"A senet board. Lady Nephthys gave it to me today. She said she'd teach me eventually."

Royal purple eyes looked at her in disbelief.

"You mean you don't know how to play?!"

Kisara shrugged.

"No, I don't. Mostly, I'm focused on what I need to do with my studies so learning a game…."

The young girl was taken aback as the young prince walked straight over to the senet board and set two chairs on the opposite ends, making sure all the pieces for each side was in their proper places.

Kisara walked over to the concentrating young prince.

"What are you doing?"

Satisfied with the way things looked, Atem took a chair on one side and gestured to the chair opposite.

"Sit down."

Kisara did so, but made her thoughts known.

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to teach you."

Kisara shot a frank look at the little boy.

"You? Teach me?"

Atem nodded.

"I've been playing senet since I was old enough to move the pieces. Shimon says I won my first game before I could even talk. If you have to learn all sorts of stuff, learning this shouldn't be too bad."

Kisara looked at the board in interest.

"How does it work anyway?"

Atem put the sticks off to the side as he gestured to the board.

"Let's start with the rules. Then we'll see how you do in a real game."

"I'll probably lose."

Atem didn't take his eyes off the board.

"It's alright, you're just beginner right now. It's not like this is a Shadow Game."

Kisara cocked her head at that.

"I've heard Nephthys mention that once. What exactly is a Shadow Game?"

Atem looked at her with some disbelief before shaking his head.

"This is going to take a while."

Kisara looked confused at that as Atem took a piece from the board into his hands.

"Let's start with senet. This is a pawn….."

* * *

**V.E.: An interesting start to an interesting relationship.**

**Okay, I didn't make my deadline, but I guess this is close enough.**

**You might have noticed I changed the picture. That's what I'll interpret Kisara to look like in her royal outfit in the future, especially when she meets Seto.**

**Please, for the love of my somewhat normal sanity, please review!**


	11. A Little Brother

**V.E.: I am pleased to present you all with the next installment in what has to be my most popular fic in progress. It gives me great pleasure to…wait a minute, why am I sounding like some priest or commencement speaker?!**

**I'm sorry for sounding so formal. I know you guys are probably annoyed right now, it's been a long time since my last update. And I'm sorry to say my out internet connection is responsible for that. What can I say? Writers are easily distracted.**

**Still, I was also trying to figure where to go to next on this. I'm pretty sure all of you liked it how I got the two into playing a game, so I'm going to be using that again this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

* * *

"Water falling down from the sky so often? Now I know you're crazy!"

Kisara just chuckled at the young boy's wide eyed face, the senet board pieces moving exactly as their game masters wished them to.

"It's true, that's how most of the crops in the village got water. And then in the colder months, it turns into white and fluffy snow."

Atem cocked his head in an adorable manner, obviously still confused.

"White….and fluffy?"

Kisara really laughed then, rubbing her sticks together.

"It's basically frozen water. I guess it's something you need to see to believe. My homeland is much colder than here, where every day is hotter than any summer I ever knew."

Atem watched her reverently as the pale haired girl threw the sticks and moved her senet pieces.

"You know Kisara, I don't know sometimes whether you're telling the truth or making this all up for a joke."

Kisara pretended to be offended at that.

"Why would I make this up? This actually happened! That was where I was born and raised!"

Atem smiled as Kisara's face broke the bluff.

"I know, I know. It just sounds so cool."

Kisara simply smiled as the younger boy took his chances at rolling the sticks.

"I suppose something that is so different may sound cool at first, but once you live it with for a while it sort of loses the wonder."

Atem cocked his head at her like so, throwing his sticks in the process.

"Is that how you feel about this place?"

Kisara laughed at that, gesturing to her arms to show largeness.

"Here, I think I could explore this palace for the rest of my life and still not know everything about it."

Atem nodded with a small smile as he moved his pieces then gestured to the board.

"Me too. Your turn."

Kisara smiled as she took up the sticks, looking back on the events on the last couple of weeks.

Since the night Atem had showed up to her room, almost every night since then the young prince stopped by the pale girl's room to play senet. Though most of the time, Atem was teaching her more than he was playing her. Still, Kisara had gotten better though she doubted she would ever beat the tricolor haired prince. He was just _too _good.

During these games, the two would often talk on just about anything: how their days had gone, old stories. Atem in particular was very intrigued about Kisara's stories before she came to the palace. He had thousands of questions and Kisara was currently his favorite answer giver.

Kisara tried to keep her stories limited; she could talk on just about everything on her homeland except when it came to the incident with her dragon. It wasn't the fact she couldn't talk about it, she just didn't want to. Her _ka_, felt sacred to her. It was a secret not to be disclosed to just anyone. Even Atem wasn't ready to learn about it.

She also omitted the details of her life in chains while moving south. Mostly she just described the sites she saw and some of the interesting people she had seen.

The third thing she wouldn't talk about was Seto and the night she escaped. That was something she would never tell anyone.

Still, even with those limitations, Kisara never lacked for anything to tell the young prince. Just about everything seemed to astonish him.

During these nights, she sometimes bit back about questions on Mahad and Mana. If Atem wanted to, he could have told her yet he hadn't. Still, she did wonder how they were doing. Mana seemed like a sweet girl though somewhat energetic. Mahad, on the other hadn, was someone she had questions for. Particularly on that vision she had after the magical duel.

A gentle intrusive voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Kisara?"

The pale haired princess in training looked up to notice that in between her thoughts, the young prince had rolled and moved his pieces into another win.

She half sighed and half groaned.

"Alright, how do you do that?"

His smile seemed more of an evil smirk on an innocent face as he answered.

"Do what?"

Kisara voice showed she didn't buy it.

"Win. ALL THE TIME."

To that, the young prince just shrugged.

"I don't know. Shimon and my father says it's because I'm blessed with the luck of the Egyptian Gods."

Kisara shook her head at that.

"I'm not sure about that."

Atem quirked his head at her words.

"You don't really believe in the gods, do you Kisara?"

Kisara shot the young boy an even look.

"I get the feeling you'd have the same sentiment about my gods if you visited my homeland."

Atem nodded to that.

"Fair point, I guess. Actually, there was some prophecy about that when I was born. Nephthys said that the day I was born she foresaw that I would gain the title 'King of Games,' but I'm not entirely certain what that means."

Kisara lifted her senet piece with a quizzical look.

"That you are so good at games that no one will be able to challenge you, let alone a girl two years older than you?"

Atem laughed at that.

"Hey, at least you last longer than Mana, she can never really stand still and concentrate that long."

Kisara quirked her head in interest.

"Really?"

Atem nodded his head enthusiastically, getting into the story.

"Yeah. One time she got so frustrated, her magic set the curtains on fire!"

Kisara gulped.

"That sounds dangerous."

The young prince waved her concern away.

"It's alright, she's gotten better with magic."

"Are all magic users like that?"

Atem shook his head at the pale girl's question.

"Not exactly. Mahad and Shimon told me Mana has a lot of power, but not a lot of control. The more she learns to use it, the better she'll be able to control it."

Kisara smiled in thanks.

"I didn't know magic worked that way. Sorry, people who can do unusual things where I come from aren't looked upon that nicely, like my Amma."

He spoke up in a quieter.

"Your grandmother, right?"

Kisara's blue eyes went downcast.

"She might as well have been my grandmother. She found me abandoned in the forest when I was just a baby, I don't really remember anything of my parents."

Atem was silent before he replied solemnly.

"I guess it may not be the same, but I can understand. I don't remember my mother at all."

She perked up in interest at that.

"Really?"

He shook his head and went on.

"Yeah, nothing. I've asked, but no one answers me. Shimon said that if I wanted to know, I would have to ask my father, but when I tried he just went really quiet."

"Maybe it's a difficult subject?"

Atem still looked thoughtful at that.

"Maybe, but I still wish I knew something."

Kisara had honestly no idea what to do as she watched the sad looking boy across the senet table, the windows revealing only the dark of nighttime. She had never been in a close type of relationship that had her offer comfort to someone, she only knew Amma's warm comfort and Nephthys' slightly gruff one.

Before she could react in anyway, a streak of light flashed in the distance of Kisara's window before a large noise echoed loudly like a large animal.

BOOM!

The noise made Atem cringe and jump while Kisara remained relatively calm, the cat who had been taking a nap woke up and dove under the covers. She caught the young boy's agitation and inquired curiously.

"What's the matter?"

Atem only shivered, huddling into himself more.

"Hate….that…"

Kisara looked out her window as the light flashed again and the large sound returned, making the prince cringe again.

"It's only a little storm, nothing like during harvest time. I guess Thor is swinging his hammer in practice right now."

She turned back to her young opponent to find something she had never seen in the young prince before, fear.

"Are you okay?"

He only gulped as he looked at her, going still as the lightning flashed again and the thunder sounded even louder.

BOOM!

Kisara held her gaze on the young boy for as soon as the noise ended, Atem sprinted over to her bed and dived under the covers to join the white kitten.

She cautiously walked over to her bed and sat down, her hand gently touching the large hidden lump that was the Crown Prince of Egypt.

"Atem…?"

The light must have flashed again, but a while ago since the thunder was slightly lesser, but still noticeable as Atem cringed.

Kisara went under the covers then to discover Atem crouched into a ball, his hands over his ears.

She then reached her hands towards him, removing his hands from over his ears and causing those ruby amethyst eyes to look right at her.

"Kisara….."

BOOM!

At the larger sound, Atem cringed again, but Kisara's grip held him in place.

"You're scared."

Atem tried to deny it.

"A prince isn't supposed to be scared, he's not supposed to show fear."

The calm Nile blue eyes of the older girl calmed him somehow.

"It's okay to be scared."

"But….."

She squeezed his hands comfortingly.

"Someone once told me that you can only be the bravest when you're scared."

BOOM!

Atem still flinched, but not too much. Neftis curled near him and purred. He gave the cat a nice scratch before turning back to her owner with pleading eyes.

"Can I stay here tonight? I don't like being in my room alone when this happens."

She only had to think about it for a moment as she drew closer to someone who could become her younger brother.

"Of course you can stay."

BOOM!

This time it was very loud, but Kisara didn't cringe. She never cringed as she looked like she saw through the sheets wonderingly.

"Well, Thor must be in a huge battle right now."

Atem looked at her questioningly.

"Who's Thor?"

'The god of thunder and lightning in my homeland. The travelling storytellers said that when these storms happen, Thor is swinging his hammer and calling down his righteous fury. Most likely he is facing the frost giants."

Atem shot her a leveled look and wry smile.

"No offence Kisara, but your gods are weird."

Kisara's smile responded the same.

"So are yours."

Atem simply smiled again as he petted little Neftis, who purred in response.

"So exactly how does that story start? About your gods, I mean."

Kisara smiled as she remembered the green forests and cold winters of her homeland, feeling not so far away with the words she was speaking.

"Well, it all begins with the Great Tree…"

* * *

When she came to, Kisara was unaware how long she had been asleep. The last thing she remembered was Atem finally falling asleep after going into Baldor's death and her closing her eyes to rest.

Then, suddenly and unceremoniously, the sheets that had been cocooning her and Atem had been ripped away and the sun was blaring as she tried to open her eyes.

She blinked the back shut as she tried to rub the sleepiness out of them before opening them again.

Priest Aknadin and Vizier Shimon did not look happy standing over the bed, just as Atem was blinking awake in confusion. Pharaoh Aknamkamon was in the background, but still looking at the both of them very intently.

Suddenly, Kisara would give anything to be anywhere, but here.

She just stood in frozen silence as Atem yawned and rubbed his eyes open.

"Whuzzah going on? Ra risen yet?"

Then he saw who was there, but he seemed still sleepy so didn't fully register their expressions.

"Oh, good morning Shimon, morning Father."

Vizier Shimon was the first to speak.

"Your Highness, may I inquire as to why you're in here and not in your room?!"

Atem seemed to wake up at the volume and replied.

"Oh, I was playing senet with Kisara last night and I didn't want to go back to my room so I slept here."

Kisara cringed as she looked at her hands balled in her lap.

"I'm sorry."

Aknadin favored her only a small glance before the Pharaoh turned his royal purple gaze toward his son.

"At the very least, you should have sent word you were here, Atem. The guards were searching the palace in a frenzy when you weren't found in your rooms."

Aknadin continued the thought after that.

"Not to mention what will happen when it is heard that you were sleeping in this girl's bed! The court will not…."

Atem's innocent reply cut the priest off.

"What's the problem?"

That got the whole room looking as the Crown Prince went on with big innocent eyes.

"I mean, Kisara's supposed to be my sister and it's alright for family to sleep in beds together. And Mana and Mahad sleep together all the time and they're not related. So how's that bad?"

Kisara had to take a moment to appreciate the priceless dumbfounded expression on Aknadin's face. It was just as frozen as the day she first saw him, after her pending adoption had been announced.

Not even noticing, Atem grabbed Kisara's hand and hoisted her off the bed pulling her along.

"Come on, Kisara!"

As the two vanished through the door, Vizier Shimon turned toward the departing pair.

"Well, I didn't expect that."

Pharaoh Aknamkamon waved a hand in front of his younger twin brother.

"Well, it's been a long time since I've seen this happen."

Shimon nodded then gestured to the doorway.

"Should we go after them?"

Aknamkamon shook his head, a smile starting to coming out.

"Oh no, this is exactly what I wanted to happen and I don't think Atem would like it if we were to interfere now. Moreover, let's wait until Aknadin comes out of his shock and then talk to the Sacred Guardians. This is something we need to bring up."

XXX

Kisara had been utterly silent as Atem dragged her through the puzzling maze that was the palace, wondering at his words earlier. She wanted to ask some questions, but he didn't say anything as she continued to let him lead her.

Finally, Kisara's eyes lit up in recognition at the garden she had come to with Lady Nephthys, but they didn't stop as the prince still guided her into the gardens to meet a surprising sight.

Mana was smiling brightly and laughing while being chased by a rather annoyed looking Mahad for the piece of papyrus rolled up in her hands.

"MANA! Give that back!"

"Not until you catch me!"

Mahad groaned as he continued running back and forth.

"Why didn't I bring my wand with me?"

The little girl responded with her own little quip.

"Because Master Rashidi said you're not supposed use magic to catch me!"

Mana kept laughing until she stopped in her tracks as she saw her best friend and the pale haired girl watching them, her face almost blank.

Mahad caught up then and snatched the scroll out of her hands before turning to see what the young girl was looking at.

Kisara raised her hand in an uneasy wave.

"Umm….hi…?"

Immediately, Mana ran over and glomped Kisara.

"Finally! We were waiting forever!"

Atem shot a mad look at his friend.

"MANA…"

Mana turned her irritated eyes on her best friend.

"Well, it's no fair you got Kisara all to yourself. We watched her with you earlier too!"

That really reddened the young prince.

"MANA!"

The two seemed to descend into squabbling while Kisara was left on the outside feeling a little clueless.

Mahad stood next to her.

"Don't worry, this happens at times."

Kisara turned to him with an uneasy smile.

"This is a surprise to see you two again."

Mahad nodded in acknowledgement, his eyes burning curiously though not as obvious as the young prince.

"As it is you."

"ARE TOO!"

"AM NOT!"

"Oh yeah, prove it!"

At the new direction of the conversation, the two older siblings of the group looked at each other. Mahad speaking first gravely.

"We better got stop them before they make a big mess of things."

Kisara favored the apprentice magician a wry smile.

"Is this what it's going to be like every day?"

Mahad gave a small smile in return before turning back.

"More like every day, then it's me fighting with Mana. Now let's go stop them before they blow something up. AGAIN."

* * *

**V.E.: Yes, I am later. Yes, I have a lot of ongoing stories. Just review!**


	12. A Final Test

**V.E.: I am calm….I am calm…I AM CALM…..**

**OH, who am I kidding?! Just for the record, I'm little bit annoyed with a reviewer who shall not be named. Still, I guess I better be getting back to this. I have finally have some time to work on Princess. **

**At the same time, I also want to get back to Fate or Sea Child. I'm a little disappointed with the later's latest chapter's turnout in reviews. Well, I suppose that's the downside of being a writer. You know, I'm surprised that people aren't' reviewing more now that there's the guest reviewer option.**

**Oh well, it is what it is and I guess I should be grateful for it. Let's get on with the story. I am currently tired and running low on Diet Coke, so there's no disclaimer for this chapter.**

* * *

The spiky tricolored crown prince put his senet piece down on the board calmly.

"I win again."

Mana struck her head into the table, groaning.

Kisara fought back a laugh, but caught the same look on Mahad's face to her right and the both of them shared a secret smile.

The four inseparables (as the Palace gossips were now calling them) were currently having a small senet tournament in one of the palace's many gardens. The past two weeks had them often meeting each other in the afternoons after Kisara's lessons. Sometimes they would be playing games, other times Mahad would be pressed by the two youngers of the group to showcase his new magic trick. Either way, it had been great for Kisara to finally get some time with people her age.

Mana, every now and then, would often intrude on her lessons with Lady Nephthys and start a game of tag or any other silly game she could think of. Showing up at her room some nights, Neftis had taken a somewhat liking for the hyperactive girl as long as she brought her treats.

Mahad, she had found to be calmer and more intellectual person she could converse with. Being around the same age, the two of them seemed to share the weight of responsibilities and warm bond with both Mana and Atem. The vision Kisara had seen hadn't been breached, but she could definitely tell Mahad thought about it too in the calm and serious way he gazed at her at times.

Atem was the leader of the group, often deciding what they were going to do. She often chuckled when Mana related a plan gone wrong that had been Atem's making. Kisara definitely felt more at ease around Atem, though she still couldn't beat him in senet.

So at the moment, she really was amused at seeing someone else get thoroughly trashed by her prospective younger brother.

Mana looked up from the table.

"Prince, I think I don't want to play anymore."

Atem seemed surprised at that and cocked his head slightly.

"Why? It's fun."

Mahad simply smiled as he explained.

"For you perhaps, but it's not so fun when you're the person who keeps losing all the time."

Atem sighed.

"It's not like I can't stand to lose, I just keep winning. I don't really mean to do it all the time."

Kisara sighed, shaking her.

"That's the problem."

All three of them turned to her with a curious look, Atem's was particularly blazing. Kssiara continued, much more at ease and a lot less self-conscious than she used to be.

"You don't really try to do it, it just happens. You're not really that challenged because you haven't met someone who's better than or at least on par with you. Losing may be unpleasant to people, but that's how we learn about our mistakes and helps us become stronger. If you keep relying on your luck to win a game, you'll never really learn anything."

Atem and Mana both looked really confused.

"What?"

Mahad simply chuckled, understanding what Kisara was saying.

"In other words my Prince, you'll never understand what it mean to really win or grow until you've found someone who can challenge you."

Atem rolled his eyes, having gone through the following discussion before.

"Mahad, how many times do I have to tell you? When it's just us and Mana and Kisara, you can call me Atem."

Mahad responded with a sigh.

"Your highness….."

Mana simply smiled, noticeabley cheered up from earlier.

"Oh come on Atem, you know Mahad is more serious than Master Rashidi, Vizier Shimon, and Mater Khalid put together."

Mahad was upset as he coughed at the reference.

"That's not true."

"Yes it is."

In what seemed to be the hundredth time since Kisara had really gotten to know them, Mana and Mahad descended into a rather childish squabble. The more she saw them, the more she was struck how much like siblings they were to each other. They may not be related by blood, but they sure acted like family with each other.

Kisara had gotten close to Atem and leaned towards him in a conspirator manner.

"So who's going to win?"

Atem pondered his chances with a sly grin.

"Probably Mahad this time. Mana won the last three fights straight, he's bound to get lucky this time."

Kisara nodded her head in thought.

"Maybe, if he knows when to cut her off in time. Otherwise, it could be anyone's game."

The two shared matching grins and giggles as they watched the argument escalate.

A deeply amused older man's voice interrupted the two's shared discussion.

"Well, this is something to see."

The two turn to find the gray haired and royal purple eyed Vizier Shimon simply smiling, the Millennium Key around his neck completely still. Mahad and Mana didn't seem to notice, being engrossed with each other and past pranks brought up.

The spiky haired prince seemed surprised and confused at the old priest and vizier's appearance.

"Shimon, what are you doing here? Does my father want to see me?"

The old man's smile died at that, shaking his head more gravely.

"Oh no, nothing like that. Rather, it's Kisara I'm here for."

Kisara's eyes widened at being taken aback, just as surprised as Atem was.

"Me? Why?"

Shimon sighed heavily before going on.

"I don't quite know, all I know is that Aknadin wishes to speak with you. This afternoon, if possible."

Of all the possibilities Kisara was expecting to hear, that was not one of them.

"But….but…..why?"

Shimon simply shrugged.

"I suppose you will have to and see him. He requested Pharaoh Aknamkamon for a time to speak with you and the pharaoh agreed."

Kisara was starting to connect some dots.

"And the reason you're here is because when Lady Nephthys heard about this, she went ballistic."

Shimon fought back a shudder and kept his calm as he went on.

"To put it in mild terms, yes. The pharaoh is currently speaking with her right now."

Kisara thought for a moment then gestured to the currently pensive prince and the bickering brunette magicians.

"I'm kind of in the middle of something right now? Do you mind giving him a message to meet me later?"

The old vizier nodded.

"Under the circumstances, I believe it would be understandable you can't come right now."

Kisara steeled her gaze.

"I'll see him in two hours. Did he say where he wanted to meet me?"

"He said he wanted to meet you in the Sacred Guardian's private chambers. Femi will show you the way when you're ready."

"Very well, thank you."

Shimon bowed his head to the pale haired girl.

"My prince. Kisara."

With that, the old man walked off on his way, on to other things to see to.

Kisara was still reeling from the shock.

"That was…unexpected."

Atem's face made it clear he agreed with her.

"Yeah, what could Uncle want to talk about now?"

Kisara went on, before catching on to what the younger boy had just said.

"I know, it seems so….wait UNCLE?"

Atem nodded, not really aware of her surprise.

"Yeah, wonder what he wants."

Kisara had to set things straight as she got Atem to look at her directly.

"Whoa, wait a minute, let me get this straight. Aknadin is your uncle."

Atem nodded quietly.

"Yeah, he's Father's younger twin brother."

"And the reason I'm hearing about this for the first time right now, is because….?"

Atem was starting to catch onto her confusion and began explaining.

"Oh, that. Well, it's not so much a big secret as people just don't really talk about it. I don't really understand it either."

Kisara felt her curiosity piqued.

"Well what happened?"

Atem's face scrunched as he thought about it, giving as best an answer he could with the information he had.

"I don't really know what happened specifically. All I know is that Uncle Aknadin gave up his royal title because of something that happened before I was born. Father said what he did helped save Egypt, but he never really explained more than that. But I've never really felt any different about him, they always call each other by first names when they're in private."

"That really doesn't say much."

Atem nodded.

"I know! I think the only people who really know why are Father and Shimon."

Kisara fell deep into thought at that.

If that was who Aknadin was, it certainly explained where some of his antagonism towards her came from. She was the exact opposite of who he was, naturally he's rather distrustful of her. Given the circumstances of how she came into the palace, it was obvious he was bound not to like her.

_That still doesn't explain everything though. Why in Odin's name did he give up his royal title? After Atem, he'd be second in line for the throne. It just doesn't make sense._

Atem's cautious and nervous voice.

"Uhh, Kisara?"

She looked up at that.

"Yeah?"

He pointed to where Mahad and Mana were still arguing, with no end in sight.

"Don't you think we should probably stop them now before they do something that's going to have the servants cleaning up this place?"

Kisara nodded furiously.

"Right, first thing's first!"

* * *

Femi gestured though the open doorway, the end of a long journey through parts of the palace Kisara had yet to explore.

"This is the place miss."

Kisara nodded her head in gratitude.

"Thank you, Femi."

The darker skinned woman didn't seem to react in the least.

"It's the least I can do miss. Lady Nephthys is currently…."

Kisara mentally cringed at the possible images.

"Yes well, thank you anyways. I believe I can handle this on my own."

Femi leveled her a questioning look.

"Are you sure miss? I doubt Lady Nephthys would mind if I came with you."

"I'll be fine."

_Besides, I need to learn to handle these things on my own._

Femi seemed to get the point as she bowed and gave the young girl space.

"As you wish, Lady Kisara."

She was slightly taken aback by the way Femi addressed her, whom she didn't did for anyone aside from Nephthys. Still, she gave another small nod of thanks as she stepped into the room.

The room was just like many rooms of the place, stone walls decorated with the traditional scenes of the gods and hieroglyphics. But there was a difference in the fact that there seemed to be a circular fire pit in the middle of the room, a blue flame still burning which struck Kisara as rather strange.

_How did it get that color?_

"Magic."

Kisara stopped her observation of the room and focused on Aknadin who was standing there. She simply walked toward his positing right next to the blue flames, determined to look him right in his eye.

Finally, she stopped right in front of him. Silence reigned for several moments before she spoke.

"You wihed to speak to me, Master Aknadin."

The older man nodded slowly, his white hood barely going at all.

"Yes, I did. I must say I'm surprised you agreed to meet with me this soon. I would have thought Nephthys would have recommended against it."

"I haven't spoken to my teacher about this. I just wanted to get this over with, whatever this is."

Aknadin considered her words.

"An interesting policy."

Kisara shook her head curtly before going on.

"Not really. I've just decided to be as blunt and truthful as possible because there's no point in lying to you."

The golden Millennium eye glinted as the deep blue eye seemed curious.

"Shimon was right, you really are a smart girl."

"So I've been told, but I doubt that's the reason you want to speak with me."

The older man was silent for a few moments.

"You should know, I don't approve of this."

"I know."

Aknadin's gaze pierced her sharply.

"Do you really?"

Kisara didn't flinch though, she stood her ground.

"I've heard enough about you to guess."

Aknadin's eye narrowed, Kisara knowing he was trying to find the thoughts behind those words. Finally, he stopped and seemed calmer.

"It's not just about what I feel about this."

Kisara looked at the pharaoh's brother in interest.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You will become a target. You'll be sleeping with one eye open every night for the rest of your life. I've seen many people crushed by this court, pretty young women included. Don't say you weren't warned."

Kisara almost smirked.

"Lady Nephthys said something similar the first day I came into the palace."

Aknadin nodded curtly.

"That woman would say that, she of all people would understand what makes up this court."

Kisara felt inclined to speak up then.

"Just for the record, I never asked for this."

Aknadin observed her at that, more curious than anything.

"I know, that's why I'm talking to you right now. If you had chosen this, I would have written you off as a lost cause."

Kisara pondered his words for a bit.

"You speak of those words as if someone with experience. Or at least, a much practiced bystander."

At that, the piercing gaze turned up a few notches.

"Let's just say I have secrets and leave it at that."

Kisara brushed the glare off as she turned around towards the door, Nephthys' training really was doing wonders.

"Everyone's entitled to secrets, I have no reason to expect you to answer me. Just so you know, I don't really like you either."

Aknadin 'hmphed.'

"Well, at least we can agree on that."

She continued.

"And I would never harm the Pharaoh or Atem. I SWEAR."

Aknadin's face was blank as he watched her retreating form go towards the entrance.

"I know."

That stopped the pale haired girl in her tracks.

"Then what was the point of this?"

Aknadin's reply was slow and controlled.

"To confirm."

Kisara turned her head back towards him.

"There's something else you want to know, isn't there?"

Aknadin waved her off.

"I don't need to know that. Everything else, I've already gotten here."

"You're a strange man, Master Aknadin."

The wielder of the Millennium Eye didn't seem at all bothered by it.

"Just be on your way, girl. This discussion, for the most part, is over."

* * *

Neftis was purring, not really listening to her pale haired owner's talking.

"That guy is beyond cryptic! Hard to believe he and the Pharaoh Aknamkamon are brothers, although they do share some facial characteristics. I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner."

Neftis simply snuggled more into her lap.

Kisara sighed at her hopeless pet.

"If I really wanted a good listener, I would find Nephthys. Though, I have no idea whether she would approve of what I said to him in there.'

At the same time, Kisara knew that this wasn't the end between and Aknadin, not by a long shot. No doubt in the future, they would probably come to clash at some point.

_I guess I'll have to accept it as what it is, there's no way you can make peace with all your enemies. Still, at least he knows I wouldn't do anything that would harm Egypt intentionally._

The other thing that was bothering her was her memory of her first meeting with Aknadin.

_Why did I think he was familiar anyway?_

She took a deep breath, feeling the small nudge of what felt like her dragon from within her. Knowing that it was her Ka, had given her a better understanding of what the dragon really was. She never feared it, her dragon had been there before she had even realized it was. It was just as responsive to her call as Neftis was, yet it also apart of her like her hand or her eyes.

She breathed in the incensed air, imaging stroking the hard white neck of the beautiful winged beast. Once that was done, she returned to her reality with a sense of peace in her mind.

_Speak of the dragon, one of these days I'm going to have to ask Mahad about that vision of mine._

A sudden quick successions of rapping on the door interrupted the quiet musings.

She straightened up and answered.

"What is it?"

The doors practically flew to the side as Mana and Atem came bounding through the door, Mana practically tackling her as Neftis hurriedly fled sensing danger.

"Is it true? Is it really true?!"

Kisara's voice showed her puzzlement.

"What's really true?"

Mana looked up at her, somewhat astonished for a young girl.

"You mean you don't know?"

"Know about what?"

An authoritative woman's voice answered the question.

"You've been approved."

Kisara turned her head with Mana and Atem to find Nephthys standing in the doorway.

The stern priestess gave nothing away, going on as if she were discussing normal business.

"Aknadin just gave his approval to your adoption and his advising just convinced some of the other nobles. You're already proficient in your studies and the Prince has already said his point to the Pharaoh. It's official, you're going to be a princess."

Atem turned to his soon to be sister with great curiosity.

"What did you say to Uncle to get him to do that?"

Kisara shook her head in disbelief.

"I didn't do anything, we just talked to each other."

Nephthys favored with a rather unusual gaze.

"Oh, I think you did more than you realize."

Atem turned to Nephthys.

"So it's for the end of this week, right?"

Kisara was startled at the suddenness.

"The end of this week?! Isn't that a little soon?"

Nephthys smiled at her protégée.

"Oh Kisara, this is anything, but out of nowhere. When the pharaoh want something, it helps to plan ahead of time. And this celebration will be just the thing that's needed."

* * *

**V.E.: Yes, I know I'm late. Hopefully, I'll do something this weekend.**

**Along with watching old cartoons and movies, I've also discovered a man called the Nostalgia Critic. Though there are some things I don't agree with, the guy's as funny as hell! Thanks to him I've discovered Batman the Animated series, which is awesome!**

**Please review! Next one up, the Mummy! I mean, my Mummy Reborn story.**


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